


Broken Mage

by kayzeee



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 46,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28586916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayzeee/pseuds/kayzeee
Summary: The empty feeling of losing her mother figure still haunts Lucy. Her efforts of finding Aquarius always turned out to be a dead end. She was desperate and opted to drink her sadness away. One night, after her usual shots of alcohol, she found herself escorted home by none other than the other blonde mage in the guild, Laxus Dreyar.
Relationships: Laxus Dreyar/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 36
Kudos: 134





	1. The Heart of Fairy Tail

**Author's Note:**

> Happy belated new year! this is my first time posting on this web, I've posted this fanfic on several web and app. but i figured, what's stopping me from wanting more audience, so hey, why the hell not. anyway, enjoy!

Like any other night, the Fairy Tail guild was quiet. It was past midnight and almost everyone had gone back to their homes, except for some who resorted to drinking after coming back from a mission. Mirajane stood behind the bar as she served not one but five shots of alcohol to one of the customers sitting in the corner. Although she looked as if she was about to faint, her hands kept waving to add more alcohol. Each gulp burned her throat but nonetheless soothing. It felt like she was drinking her problems away.

The girl swatted her blonde hair out of her face and proceeded to bring her chin to her right hand, which supported the weight and sighed. It was time like this where she felt like she could take off her mask. At night, where her teammates were already asleep. She didn't want to burden them, not again. The blonde haired then took another two shots, her cheeks already felt warm and she could feel the alcohol getting into her, making her a tad bit light-headed. The silver haired bar maid approached her with worry etched in her face.

'Lucy,' she called softly, making Lucy turned her head up towards Mirajane. 'You should go home.' Mira suggested, smiling softly. Mira knew what the answer would be, but she must try. It had been a couple of months since the guild had been reinstated. At first, Mira was surprised with Lucy at the sudden interest to drink alcohol. She had welcomed the heart of fairy tail and served her everything she wanted as Lucy had never shown much interest to drinking before to which Mira was excited seeing her blonde friend trying something new.

It started out only light drinking but then Lucy kept coming, spending endless nights and her drinks got heavier and a lot. She started drinking shots of alcohol, reaching to the amount of how much Cana drank in a day, in just one night. Sometimes, it increased even more when she just came back from a mission. Mira couldn't help but worried about the heart of the fairy tail. In the mornings, she always seemed fine, laughing, smiling, and scolding Natsu. But when the night came, it was like she was a completely different person. The despair Mira saw in Lucy's eyes each time she took another shot was heart breaking.

Of course, Mira had asked, heck, even practically forced Lucy to tell her what was wrong, but Lucy would just smiled weakly and told her she was just tired. Mira knew she was lying, but Lucy was too stubborn, so all Mira could do was just making sure she came back safe each night.

Lucy smiled weakly at Mira, her head swayed as she nodded and told her that she would go home after one more drink. Mira could only sighed and went back to do her chores. Kinana didn't come today, so she had to do double shift, which meant she couldn't take Lucy home tonight.

Just then, a huge cloaked figure came up and sat roughly just couple of seats away from where Lucy was. The guy drummed his fingers to the bar tables before calling Mira to order his usual. He muttered thanks to the barmaid as she served him beer. The cloaked guy gulped down almost half of his beer and sighed, stroking his blonde hair tiredly. He had just came back from a long mission, it paid nicely—since it was an S-class mission and of course things worked out well. But, recently he felt like he was missing something. He didn't know but he often got this empty feeling and that frustrated him.

Mira saw Laxus once again drank his beer until there was none left. It wasn't surprising seeing him here, but she knew that something was bothering him lately. With the constant sighs and spacing out every now and then, she could tell that Laxus was dealing with something. Laxus paid for his drink and was just about to get up before suddenly, Lucy—who was walking out of her chair stumbled on her other feet and was about to fell. She quickly reached out to the nearest handle she could find, which at that moment was Laxus' furry coat. Lucy closed her eyes, waiting for the impact but found out that it never came. When she opened them, she found herself held by a muscled figure.

Mira, who was watching the scene, lift her eyebrow as the gears in her brain started to work out a plan. Hearts formed in her eyes as her head filled with the thought of matchmaking her two, troubled friends. She approached both blondes that were still staring at each other.

'Laxus,' she called, making both blondes turned their heads towards her. 'Can you take Lucy home, please? Just for tonight. I got to work double shift because Kinana couldn't come today.' Mira pleaded with her infamous puppy eyes. She knew Laxus enough that puppy eyes would work well.

Laxus sighed, bringing his attention back to the blonde in his arms, the supposedly heart of fairy tail. What was she doing here? Where were flame brain and the ice pick? Lucy smiled drunkenly and laid her head to the side—probably the effect of alcohol, making her swayed. One thing Laxus could distinguished from her was that she reeks alcohol. A lot of alcohol. She usually smelled sweet, like strawberry or fresh mountain on occasions, but it wasn't like he paid attention to her or anything. It was just a little surprising seeing the princess stayed up late drinking. Well, it wasn't his business anyway.

Laxus shifted his hold from her arms to her waist, making Lucy swayed to the front, landing her head into his chest. He looked at Mira who was watching him expectantly with that puppy eyes of her. He huffed defeatedly.

'Fine.' He sighed, 'Where's her apartment?' He asked to which Mira gave the precise location of. Laxus shifted his eyes to the blonde leaning in his chest, he tapped her shoulder gently.

'Hey, princess, can you walk or do I have to carry you?' He asked, his hands on her shoulder, slightly pushed her so that he could look at her.

Lucy hiccupped and frowned, shrugging off Laxus' hands from her shoulders to which made her swayed a little bit, 'I could take care of myself,' she slurred in between hiccups, crossing her arms in deviant and started walking—no, swaying towards the door. She was about to trip when Laxus' once again held her from falling. With one frustrated sighed, Laxus lifted her up and swung her to his shoulder.

'Tsk. What a pain.' Laxus grumbled.

Lucy yelped at the sudden force but didn't protest. She was drunk, to the point until she couldn't walk by herself. She knew that. It was worth the try, at least. With her vision upside down, she could see Mira waving sweetly at them, Lucy could saw her the glint in Mira's eyes, meaning she had something up in her sleeves but decided to wave it off. Her head was spinning from the position and as they got outside Lucy knocked on Laxus' back a couple of times before letting out a giggle. Why was this so funny? His back is so muscly and hard she could knock like it was a door.

'Mr. Spark Plug can you get me down, now?' Lucy asked, 'Unless you want this legendary flowing cloak of yours decorated with vomit…' hearing that, Laxus held her waist and put her down, he stared at her horrified.

Lucy giggled, amused that her threat worked out nicely. They proceeded to walk with Laxus' arms circling her waist, helping her walk straight. Lucy shivered slightly at the cold night air. She wore a loose tank and short jeans, she didn't have time to change, Lucy instinctively brought her hands together, rubbing each arm to warm herself. Suddenly, the arm in Lucy's waist was gone and she felt a weight in her shoulders. Before she could sway, the arm went back to her waist, holding her once more. She looked to her shoulder to find that Laxus' had put his coat on her. It was so big and heavy the ends touched the ground, but it was warm she couldn't help but tightening it around her body.

'Thanks,' she flushed, looking up at the blonde dragon slayer. Laxus' stared at her and grunted. 'how does it feel wearing my legendary flowing cloak?' He asked, amused at the name.

Lucy snorted and giggled, 'It's a bit heavy, actually,' she hiccupped and giggled again. 'how come your coat still stays on you when you get into a fight?' Lucy asked, curiosity filled her eyes as she stared at the dragon slayer.

Laxus lifted an eyebrow and tilt his head slightly at the question. He looked at Lucy incredulously, 'Because I'm awesome?' he said as if stating the obvious, his eyes had humorous glint. Hearing his answer, Lucy snorted and laughed, a genuine laugh. It had been so long since she could laugh like this, although she didn't know why she was laughing this hard. She wasn't sure if it was Laxus cracking jokes or if the alcohol finally took over her brain. She was opting for the latter, but it was still refreshing nonetheless.

'Wow I must really be Lucky Lucy for hearing the iron faced dragon slayer crack a joke,' Lucy teased after her laughter died down, wiping away a tear. She snuck a glance at the blonde next to her, his eyes twitched at the name she gave him but before he could retaliate, Lucy let out a yelp.

'My lovely apartment! Yay!' she exclaimed, slightly jumping whilst stretching her arms up. Without a warning, Lucy grabbed Laxus' wrist and pulled him with her.

'Let's have some fun!' the celestial mage slurred happily. Laxus' could only stared at her in disbelief. He had never seen this side of Lucy before. Heck, they barely even had a conversation before so he didn't exactly know much about her. But this… this wasn't what everyone was talking about. Usually, people would describe her as a bright, innocent, kind princess. He guessed it was just the alcohol taking over. But there was something about her eyes that ticked him off…

They arrived at her room and Lucy switched the lamp on. She giggled excitedly, swaying to her bed and plopped herself down, Laxus followed suit. Lucy laid in her bed and rolled around excitedly, obviously more drunk than ever. The blonde dragon slayer could only shook his head seeing Lucy's behaviour.

'Let's play!' she exclaimed childlike, still rolling in her bed, getting tangled in Laxus' coat. Laxus walked closer to the edge of her bed and rest both of his hands on the bed, trapping Lucy in between so that she stopped rolling around. He crouched and brought his face closer to hers. Lucy froze at the close proximity between her and the blonde dragon slayer, she watched wide eyed as Laxus face inched closer to hers.

Before she could react, Laxus pulled himself up from his position, chuckling, 'Guess we had a different definition of 'playing'' He said, smirking at the frozen Lucy.

Lucy puffed out her cheeks and sat while crossing her arms. As Laxus turned his back to get out of this mess, Drunk Lucy saw an opportunity and gingerly jumped on his back while yelling 'meow'. Laxus flinched at the sudden force on his back and turned his head to face the Drunk Lucy who was laughing happily while shaking around on his back.

'Get off,' he gritted out, annoyed.

Lucy stuck her tongue out and gave him the middle finger to which Laxus responded by staring at her disbelievingly.

'Not before you fondle my chin! Fondle my chin, Mr. Spark Plug!' Lucy whined in his ears, making Laxus' eyebrow twitched in annoyance. For someone who people described as innocent, she sure had a weird kink, Laxus thought.

'How could I fondle your chin if you're perch on my back? Get off, princess,' Laxus growled, thinking that he should at least let her death grip on his neck go first.

Lucy was silent for a while and jumped off Laxus' back onto the floor, making Laxus exhaled. The blonde mage was on her knees, looking up at Laxus with her big brown eyes. Laxus who was relieved because she had let go of the death grip turned around to find the blonde mage on her knees, looking at him with that slight pout. Laxus' breath couldn't help but hitched at the blonde in front of him. She looked so vulnerable for a moment and quickly shifted her mouth upward, eyes glinting with plea.

'Fon-dle me!' she said with a cute determination in her face, Laxus couldn't help but smile.

He lifted an eyebrow, 'No.' with that, he crouched and put his hand around Lucy's waist, heaved her up his shoulder and proceeded to put her gently on the bed. He took his coat and rolled her into a human burrito with her pink blanket.

'Now, sleep. You're drunk.' He told Lucy, who was just realizing she was stuck inside the roll.

She pouted, 'Meanie!'

Laxus chuckled at her antics before turned his back to leave, letting her rest. He was about to reach for the handle before stopped abruptly by the sound of small sniffling sound. He turned around to see that Lucy's playfulness had changed into that vulnerable look he saw earlier. A tear escaped from her eyes as she sniffled, her head was beckoned towards Laxus but her eyes wasn't focused on him.

'Please don't leave,' Lucy said in a small voice which made Laxus' heart felt heavy.

Laxus tilted his head in confusion at the heart of fairy tail in front of him. Wasn't she supposed to be bright and happy? He knew she was a bit of a cry baby, but what he saw wasn't just normal crying. It's guilt, sorrow, despair and… loneliness. She looked as if she had held this in for so long. Laxus couldn't help but pity his fairy tail comrade. He walked slowly back to her and sat at the edge of her bed, gently letting her go from the human burrito blanket. He didn't know what happened but he stroked her hair gently while she buried her face on her pillow and one of her hands gripped his coat that was slung over his arm.

'Please… don't go.' Lucy said between small sobs, she loosened her grip on Laxus' coat to rub the tears on her cheek.

Laxus kept stroking her hair gently, hoping it could calm her. Then, he put his coat over her shaking figure. He didn't understand what was going on but she was his nakama, his comrade, and it broke his heart seeing—and hearing the heart of fairy tail was suffering like this. And so he stayed with her, resting his back and stretched his legs on her bed, carefully putting a little bit distance from her. His hand kept stroking her hair until the sobs subsided and was replaced by soft snores.


	2. The Facade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on having this end in like 10 chapters or so, but the way the story progressing now, i think it would be more. right now i already have 10 chapters in drafts so, I'll update one chapter per day probably?

Light shined as the morning breeze blew through the half-opened curtain, showing a mop of blonde hair sprawled all over the pillows. Pair of arms came out of the blanket, stretching out as the person yawned. One of the hands snaked to her nose, rubbing them roughly because it had felt ticklish. The person turned to the side, hoping to get some more sleep, but the tickle on her nose didn't go away and instead made her sneeze which worsens her headache.

Lucy growled in annoyance then opened her eyes and shut them again quickly after her eyes came in contact with the bright light. Her hand rubbed her nose vigorously and felt a material that wasn't her blanket. It was rough and has fur on the edges. Fur? She thought. Lucy opened her eyes slowly, squinting at the sunlight. She averted her eyes to her nose, white furry thing blocking her view and she saw black material covering her.

What?

She sat up, cringing at the pain on her head and touched the furry material that had been covering her. It was a coat. A big, heavy coat. One that looked awfully familiar… Lucy froze and felt her face warmed as she remembered bits of what happened last night. She looked around her room and listened intently to any sound. Nothing. Her apartment was dead quiet and there wasn't anyone there. Then, was it a dream? But why would she have his coat on her? Maybe he had taken off?

Ah… I hope I didn't do anything embarrassing…

Lucy thought though she wasn't sure. But oh well, she didn't give much thought to it as they probably wouldn't encounter each other again. She gently got off the bed and walked slowly towards the kitchen, ignoring the protest of her spinning head and went to get painkillers. After she took two of them, she sat on a stool and laid her head on the kitchen counter and sighed. After multiple hangover, she thought she would get used to it, but it just seemed worst each time. That was it, last night was the last time she would ever get drunk.

Lucy sat up, resting her chin on her palm and scoffed pitifully. No matter how many times she said those words, she would always end up drunk in the guild again. It seemed as if alcohol was her only answer. She had tried to find anything, anything else that would get her mind off Aquarius.

Aquarius.

Lucy felt a prick in her eyes as it brimmed with tears at the thought of her precious key, broken key. Her hand snaked to her neck, finding the broken key that she had turned into a necklace. It had been a little over a year since Aquarius' sacrifice on Tartaros battle. She spent the year of the guild disbandment to look for the new key but to no avail. Every time she thought that she was close to finding her, it turned out to be a dead end. It always did. For a year she shed blood, sweat, and tears trying to find her. She was so full of determination at first, but then she got tired. It pained her that she wasn't strong enough to protect her friends, her keys. If only she was stronger… she wouldn't have to summon the spirit king.

When she met Natsu at the GMG, she thought that this time it wouldn't be a dead end. It was Natsu, he was like a lucky charm for her—well, aside for the kidnapping, battles, and troubles, he did bring her to fairy tail, after all, for her that was enough to make Natsu her lucky charm. And not long after that, the guild got back together. She couldn't ask for more, that time it seemed as if she was going for the right path. But it didn't.

Natsu might not show it, but Lucy knew that he was still mourning for Igneel. So did Gray. She didn't know exactly what each of her teammates went through, but she knew enough that Tartaros had scarred each of them deeply. She couldn't bear adding the burden of finding her lost key to them, even though she knew that they would help her, she couldn't. She didn't want to be the damsel in distress anymore, she couldn't always rely on them to fix her problems. So, when her team was on a mission, she often snuck out of her own to find more information about the key's whereabouts. She also went on solo missions to go to places where the rumored key was. But there was only so much she could do alone.

On one night, after she finished her solo mission and yet again found a dead end, she went back to the guild feeling dejected. It was then she found Cana, who was in her usual spot, drinking barrels of booze and she figured what was the harm to get drunk, just so the pained feeling could disappear if only for a while. That was when she started to give up. After that, she'd spent her nights in the guild, either drinking with Cana or drinking alone. During the day, she went on missions with Team Natsu, acting normal so that her teammates wouldn't be worried. Some days, when her hungover was really bad, she would excuse herself by saying she wasn't feeling well or that her rent was covered. Lucy hated lying to her friends, but she really didn't want her friends to stick their necks out for her again.

Lucy's thoughts were cut short by the sound of windows slammed open, her head snapped to the source of the sound, only to make her head throbbed even more.

'Lushi!' yelled a voice from a certain blue flying cat. 'Wake up, Lushi!' Happy exclaimed, flying to Lucy's bed only to find out that it was empty.

'Eh? Lushi?' Happy wondered aloud. His attention averted to a black, furry material on the corner of her bed, he was about to touch the familiar material but a voice made him turned his attention.

'She's here happy!' Natsu yelled behind Lucy which made the blonde mage startled and jumped from her seat. Lucy turned towards Natsu's goofy face, eyes twitching and lip turned into a frown.

'How many times do I tell you never snuck up behind me like that!' Lucy yelled angrily, her hand curled into a fist, waving around. Turned out she wouldn't be resting today, Lucy huffed angrily. Well, her hangover wasn't that bad anyway.

She focused her attention to Natsu and found that he wasn't in front of her anymore, instead he was already making himself comfortable on her couch, munching on some leftover chips with Happy beside him, munching on the fish that he brought. Lucy sighed. A company wouldn't be so bad. Then, just as Lucy was about to plop herself down the couch, she froze. She must have smelled like alcohol! And Laxus' coat! She didn't think about it before. She didn't want anyone to take it the wrong way. It wasn't like Laxus' and her were a thing. But, imagining Erza's face when she found Lucy had Laxus' coat with her… No, Lucy didn't want to risk it. Her friends might be the sweetest people in the world, but they sure as hell knew how to get the wrong idea.

With that, Lucy made a quick dash to her bed and threw Laxus' coat into the depth of her wardrobe and quickly went into the bathroom to rub off the alcohol smell off her. Lucy knew it was probably a long shot, trying to cover up Laxus' coat as it probably has his scent all over. But, Natsu was a pretty dense guy, so she could only hope.

After the long bath, Lucy got dressed and plopped herself on the couch next to Natsu who was chatting with Happy. Her headache had subsided a lot because of the hot bath she had, Lucy made a mental note to invite Cana and Levy to the hot spring later.

'Lucy, wanna go on a mission?' Natsu asked, turning his head towards Lucy.

Hearing that, Happy brightened, 'Aye! We never do mission together anymore, let's go, Lushi!' he exclaimed, flying up and down in front of Lucy.

Lucy pondered for a moment, she did need to pay her rent soon. Before Lucy could answer, Natsu already flew out of her window with Happy, yelling for her to go to the guild at noon. Lucy sighed at her teammates' antics.

Lucy stood from the couch, heading to the kitchen to make herself brunch. After that, she went to her wardrobe to retrieve Laxus' coat that she threw earlier. She was thinking about folding it and return it to him at noon, but she felt bad for using it as a blanket, the alcohol smell must have rubbed on the coat and opted to wash it first instead. Lucy would give it to him after the mission.

Lucy arrived at the guild when the sun was at its peak. It was hot outside, so Lucy put on her usual loose tank and shorts. The guild was crowded, as usual, Cana drinking her precious booze, Elfman yelling 'Man!' with Evergreen scolding behind him, Levy and Gajeel in the corner somewhere… but what caught her attention was a certain blonde dragon slayer sitting in the barstool, coat-less. Huh. It was a bit strange seeing him in just a plaid shirt and pants. Lucy was about to approach Laxus when Natsu, Happy, and Erza came up to her.

'We found the perfect mission! Look, Lucy! The reward includes celestial keys!' Natsu said happily while Erza's eyes glinting proudly, Happy flying around them.

Lucy's heart dropped upon hearing celestial keys but she quickly put on an excited face. She took the request paper from Natsu's hand and read it carefully. The money sure looked so appealing, with her share she could pay two months' rent and still could do shopping. Why wouldn't they write what kind of celestial key in the reward? She didn't want to get her hopes up. It couldn't be, could it? The last time she got a zodiac key, it was an S-Class mission, so the reward key couldn't be Aquarius… right? Lucy's mind was in conflict, whatever the key was, she still needed to pay her rent and this was the best she could get. Lucy was afraid if she declined the request, her friends would go around asking non-stop and that would complicate things.

Lucy forced a smile and nodded, 'Sure! Let's go.'

They all went to the bar where Mira was serving beer to Laxus. Natsu handed Mira the request paper and Mira went to inform the requester. While they waited for Mira to confirm, Lucy sat, a couple of stool away from where Laxus' sat. Lucy sat idly while her mind wandered aimlessly about the mission. An outstretched palm in front of her intercepted her thoughts. She looked up to the owner of the hand and saw Laxus' emotionless face staring at her. It seemed the guild had quieted down, too, as everyone's attention was on two blonde mages. Lucy looked at the blonde dragon slayer quizzically, slightly tilting her head.

'My coat,' He said curtly.

Lucy's eyes clicked as if realizing what he said. Great. Now everyone's going to think they had something going on, what a pain. She gave him a side-eye and pursed her lips.

'Later. I'm washing it,' Lucy said quietly, hoping no one listened in their conversation. She could already feel Mira's curious gaze drilling her back.

Laxus dropped his outstretched hand and sighed annoyedly. 'Tsk.' Was all Lucy thought he said but then heard he muttered, 'Don't have to.'

Lucy just rolled her eyes. It wasn't her fault. She didn't leave it there, he could have taken it back with him instead of playing the gentleman. She crossed her arms and looked away from him. The guild seemed to return to normal, with the exception of some of her friends' curious stare. Ignoring the curious glance, Lucy stood and dragged Natsu and Erza to the train station.

Her stomps could be heard even after she had left the guild. Laxus stare at the stool where Lucy just sat. Looked like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He wondered what made the princess in such a bad mood. He certainly didn't miss the change of her face upon seeing the request paper. Laxus wasn't going to lie, he had been observing the heart of fairy tail for quite a while. Aside from easy on the eyes, Lucy intrigued him, although he wouldn't admit that openly.

Laxus was intrigued by how a person could be that warm and compassionate towards other people and the effect she had on people. His first impression on her was indeed bad; another weak, useless, dumb mage yet so far she had proved him dead wrong. Laxus averted his eyes and was met by Mira's lovey-dovey stare.

'Hmm.' She said, smirking knowingly.

He didn't even want to know what the devil woman had up in her sleeves. It wasn't like that. He was just… admiring Lucy. Yes, admiring her.

Admiring to the point of knowing what her scent was like, yeah, nice try, Laxus.

'Careful, Laxus. Don't lie to yourself like that,' Mira said sweetly as if reading Laxus' mind. She tilted her head, a hopeful glint could be seen in her eyes, her smile was like a kid who was given candies.

Laxus frowned at Mira, 'It's not like that.' He said, voicing his thoughts.

Mira nodded mockingly, not believing the words he said while Laxus just grunted in response and took off without another word. Mira chuckled to herself. Those two needed just a teeny tiny bit of a nudge. She brought her hands together and smiled evilly, almost seemed like two devil horns protruded on her head.

This is going to be fun.


	3. The Question

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit short chapter. It's a filler, really.

It was another normal day for Laxus, hanging out in the guild, drinking beer, and brooding. Everyone knew that socializing wasn't really his forte so there was some kind of unspoken agreement between him and the others. He stayed out of their way and they stay out of his. It wasn't like he doesn't like their company, it was just that he doesn't like company. Anyone with a brain could distinguish between the two, obviously. The Thunder God Tribe was on a mission on their own, so Laxus was spare for a day. He loves his teammates, he did, but sometimes, he just needed a break from them. With Bick's constant dirty jokes, Ever's non-stop gossips and Freed's overprotectiveness of him. Really, they were just too much for Laxus sometimes.

Laxus took a gulp of his beer, his mind wandered aimlessly until he remembered a certain blonde celestial mage who still had his coat. Truth be told, he actually didn't mind, she could keep it with her for all he cares, it was just a coat. All the more reason to go talk to her, he thought. He didn't know where this urge comes from, but he wanted to talk to her. As he said, he was intrigued by her. But it didn't necessarily mean that he likes her.

Laxus figured he just needed something new to this repetitive style of his life; going on missions, drinking beers, sleeping, and repeat. He wasn't a saint, being the way he was, Laxus had his fair share of women before. But he wasn't looking for that. He wouldn't admit it but he knew he needed someone.

With one swig, he finished his beer and got up. He paid and took off from the guild, heading to his house. On the way home, he passed by the local hot spring and saw a flash of familiar blonde hair. He stopped in his tracks and caught a whiff of Lucy's distinct strawberry scent.

She's back already?

Earlier that day

Lucy leaned her head against the window, looking at the changes of the scenery as the train moved. Natsu moans just stopped after Erza decided that enough is enough and punched him to sleep instead. Happy sat on Natsu's lap while eating a fish while Erza was leaning her head back, eyes closing. Their mission was a success and for once they didn't cause too many damages, they all got their share and Lucy was content because her rent was covered.

Different case for the reward key, though. As Lucy had expected, it wasn't a gold key. It wasn't Aquarius. Lucy was still happy for the addition to the family, but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She hated feeling that way, even though she already told herself not to have too many expectations, in the end, she still hoped which then always turned out to be false. She hated it. She hated that she couldn't control her feelings, that this disappointment was affecting her greatly.

She was happy. She should be. The new spirit she got, which was Vulpecula was said to be an extremely fierce yet loyal spirit. Just like her. Like Aquarius. It frustrated Lucy that there were so many remnants of Aquarius everywhere. It wasn't like she want to forget her, it was just that she was hurting because of both her incapability to protect her spirits and incapability to find Aquarius' key.

'Say, Lucy,' Happy suddenly said in between eating his fish. Lucy turned her head.

'The black thing I saw on your bed earlier was Laxus' coat, wasn't it?' He asked, his tone held no provocative nor teasing tone, just genuinely curious, like an innocent kid. But Lucy knew better, Happy was one sly cat.

Still, the question caught Lucy off guard. She smiled and scratched the back of her head awkwardly, no point of lying anyway. It would get her in trouble more, with Happy as the investigator.

Lucy nodded, 'Yeah.'

Erza perked up from her seat, face reddening, 'S-so y-you and h-him?' she stuttered, embarrassed at the question she was implying.

Lucy's eyes widened and she quickly put her hands in front of her, waving it around.

'N-no! He lent it to me one night because I was cold, it was a cold night, that's all. Nothing happened! Really!' Lucy sputtered, feeling bashful at her panicky self.

Happy looked at Lucy in disbelief, 'In love!' he stated and laughed to himself while Erza yelped, making a fuss by herself, face reddening.

Lucy just sighed and crossed her arms. She looked away, feeling her cheeks a bit warm.

'Stupid cat.' She grumbled to herself and leaned her head against the window again.

Amidst her jumbled thoughts, Lucy couldn't help but think. In love, huh? She wondered how that feel. All her life, she had never been in love before. Crushes, sure, she had a lot but love? That was unfamiliar territory for her. At first, she thought she was in love with Natsu, but as time goes, she came to the realization that what she felt for Natsu was nothing more than familial love. It never came to mind before and it probably wouldn't happen any time soon. Lucy closed her eyes and rest her thoughts before she knew, she already drifted asleep.

After they arrived at Magnolia, Lucy dumped her bag in her apartment and went to Fairy Hills. She needed to blow off some steam and what better way than to invite her friends to the hot spring? Lucy took her time as the way to the dormitory was quite long and steep. When Lucy got there, she gingerly knocked on Levy's room. It had been so long since she hung out with Levy as both of them had been preoccupied; Lucy with drinking and hangovers, Levy off somewhere with Gajeel.

'Levy-chan!' Lucy greeted excitedly when Levy opened the door, still in her PJs.

Levy rubbed her eyes tiredly, 'Lu-chan? What time is it?' she asked as she stretched her body and yawned loudly.

'It's almost 4 P.M. Wanna go to the hot spring?'

Levy's eyes perked up at the mention of hot spring. Fully awake, she nodded her head enthusiastically and made a quick dash to change. After that, Lucy and Levy went to Cana's room which they found (unsurprisingly) was drinking booze. The three of them took off and met Erza halfway which then joined the group to the hot spring.

Lucy sighed contently as she soaked herself in the warm water. She closed her eyes and relaxed as the strained in her muscles decreased. She should've done this more often. Lucy opened her eyes and looked at her friends, they were chatting and giggling.

'So, I heard you and the metal face had done the dirty?' Cana asked Levy, her eyebrows wiggling teasingly.

Upon hearing the question, Levy's face went as red as a tomato as she sunk herself lower, making only her nose up visible on the water. Seeing how Levy reacted, the girls all laughed. Who knows that the sweet, innocent bookworm of the guild did the dirty with a guy equivalent to a gang leader? Lucy was happy with how they both turned out, but it also made Lucy think.

'You must be really in love with him. Levy-chan, what's being in love like?' Lucy asked without thinking, blushed when she realized her question. Cana and Erza smiled and stared at her with a knowing look as if implying for something. Before both of them could tease Lucy, Levy sighed dreamily.

'Hmm. Happy. Safe. Peaceful. I don't know how to describe it but it felt so wonderful.' Levy sighed once again, trapped in her own daydream.

Wonderful, huh? Lucy thought it would be nice, having someone she could rely in. Being their anchor and them being hers. Her friends were her anchor at the moment, but Lucy knew that they couldn't always stay that way. Eventually, they would all have their own anchor and someone made them theirs. Lucy wondered, was being in love that wonderful? By now Lucy realized the mischievous looks from both Cana and Erza, Lucy could guess what was coming next and she stared at them back, crossly.

'No.' was all Lucy said.

Cana chuckled, 'Aw, c'mon. You had his coat and you expect us to believe nothing happened?' Erza nodded her head, agreeing with Cana.

'Because nothing did happen!' Lucy exclaimed, waving her hands around exasperatedly.

'Sooner or later, Lucy.' Erza suddenly said, making Lucy puffed her cheeks, annoyed. Lucy opted to be silent because she knew they wouldn't stop, so might as well gave in.

Whatever they said it wouldn't happen. Lucy could guarantee it. Laxus was indeed a very handsome, sculpted, male sex god (well, Lucy didn't know if he really was—a sex god, but she assumed he would be, because… well, he was really attractive and—nothing, it didn't even matter) the point was, yes, Laxus was very… interesting, but that was exactly why it wouldn't happen! They barely even spoken to each other, let alone date. The night she came home drunk with him was just a one-time thing, she sure of it. It wasn't like she was his type. Right?

Lucy growled in frustration at her confusing thoughts.

'Ha!' Cana pointed an accusing finger at her, 'You just thought about it, didn't you?' she more or less stated, a winning smile etched on her face.

Lucy held up her hands, giving up but rolled her eyes either way. It wouldn't happen, she was sure.

'Speaking of lovers, how's Aquarius doin', Lucy? Does she still brag about her boyfriend? Summon her, I want to brag too, haha!' Cana said suddenly, making Lucy almost choked on her spit.

Damn.

Hearing Aquarius' name made her newly made wall broke down once again. That's right, the last time Cana met Aquarius was in Tenrou, when Aquarius yet again bragged about having a boyfriend. It didn't help that they were in the hot spring. Lucy used to love summoning her while she was having a bath. Sure, Aquarius would just get mad and unleashed a mini tsunami on her, but she was always glad that she was there.

Get your shit together, Lucy!

Lucy slapped herself mentally, pushing her tears that were threatening to come out, Lucy collect herself, pausing before braving herself to answer Cana's question.

'Eh… She's okay, still the same,' Lucy paused again, her voice almost broke. 'But I can't today, she's having a date right now. If I bother her, all hell would break loose.' Lucy said, a thin sadness latch on her tone, she hoped no one realized. Cana looked horrified and nodded.

After that, Lucy mostly just kept quiet, she nodded and laughed along but didn't engage in the conversation. She was scared that if she opened her mouth, her emotions would barf out. So she stayed silent until it was time to go home. On the way home, she couldn't think straight. She walked, her mind aloof, refusing to think of anything. When she got home, she just sat, looking blankly to the wall. Lucy knew that she was detaching herself from the world, yet again, but she was too scared to face her emotions. She didn't want to feel that pain anymore.

Reaching for her keychain, Lucy got out her new silver key.

'Open, gate of the fox, Vulpecula.' Lucy chanted quietly.

A bright light shined in front of her, making her squinted. There stood the spirit, a grown woman with fox ears and an orange tail. Vulpecula stared down at Lucy, crossing her arms.

'Here's my contract, brat,' The spirit said, giving her a piece of paper. Lucy nodded and thanked her before sending her away to the spirit realm.

Lucy couldn't help but think that Vulpecula felt just like Aquarius, that made a tear escaped. Soon, Lucy was rocking back and forth, crying loudly, her wall had finally broken down. Suddenly, she felt a warm hug enveloped her, and a hand stroked her hair. Lucy found Loke had opened his own gate and was hugging her. She instinctively hugged him back and cried louder.

'I'm sorry,' Loke whispered sadly, stroking her hair gently. 'I'm here.'


	4. The Truth

Laxus woke up with a jolt, sleepy eyes looked around the darkroom. The sun had set a long time ago. Laxus rubbed his face tiredly, he was only going to take a short nap, but he woke up at night time instead. He was planning on visiting Lucy's apartment in the afternoon, to get his coat and to have a little chat, but it was night time already. Had she fallen asleep? He wondered.

Well, since he was going to the guild anyway, might as well just try and knock on her door, he thought, standing up from the bed to get changed. Laxus trudged to the bathroom and washed the sleep away from his face. He felt shitty like he had risen from the dead. Taking naps too long was never a good idea for him. He needed booze.

It was a cold night. Unusually colder. Seeing as he didn't have his go-to coat at the moment, Laxus rummaged through his wardrobe and found a green bomber jacket that he never used. He put it over his shirt and went out. Laxus breathed in his clasped hands and stuffed them to his pockets as he was strolling on the streets of Magnolia, heading to Lucy's apartment.

When he got in front of Lucy's place, the street was quiet, it was nearly midnight, Laxus was worried about bothering her this late. He looked up at her window, the room was already dark. She might be tired after her mission, he would be a bother if he came just because of his coat, at least that was what he thought if he was in her place. Laxus hated being disturbed, especially when he was tired.

With one look at her window, Laxus turned and took off. He didn't want to bother her. Kicking the pebbles in the way, the blonde dragon slayer walked towards the direction of the guild. As he was nearing the guild, Laxus caught a distinct sweet scent. He walked up to the guild and opened the door straight away, only to be greeted by the sight of Lucy being half-conscious, arms slung over Mira's neck, obviously drunk.

Mira saw Laxus at the door and got an idea. She skillfully posed to be struggling at carrying Lucy, hunched over, as if she couldn't handle Lucy's weight. Mira smiled mischievously before looking up at Laxus, eyes pleading.

'Laxus, could you--?' Mira purposely cut off her sentence to false struggling carrying Lucy again, which made Laxus came up to her in a flash, shifting most of Lucy's weight to him.

Mira smirked. Success, now phase two.

'Get her home, will you? I've still got chores.' She smiled sweetly and bolted out to the kitchen in a flash, leaving Laxus who was holding the half-conscious blonde mage to his chest, agape.

Well this is just great. Why did he have to deal with Drunk Lucy again? Laxus was baffled, he didn't want to stick being the drunksitter. It was a pain, remembering how handful Lucy was the last time. This was his second time seeing the blonde celestial mage wasted like this. It also looked like she was drunker than the first time, seeing as she didn't act hyperactive like before. Was drinking actually her thing? But he hadn't seen her at the bar before. True, he always goes on long missions but when he was at Magnolia he always at the bar.

Could it have something to do with her crying a couple of days ago? His memories flashed back to when he saw that vulnerable, pain-stricken eyes. Truth be told, he was a little worried about her. It seemed that her friends didn't know about her state, too. That meant she has been going through it alone. Laxus stared at the blonde leaning on his chest, her face was scrunched like something bothered her deeply.

Laxus was about to call Mira when a soft snore caught his attention. Lucy had fallen asleep, her face loosened though she still looked bothered. Staring at her limp body leaning against him, he noticed Lucy's slight shiver. There she goes again not wearing warm clothes. Laxus sighed, it seemed he was going to lose his jacket, yet again. He gently shrugged off his jacket, shifting Lucy from one arm to the other and put it around her. Then, he picked her up carefully so that he didn't wake her. Lucy shifted when he brought her up to his arms, instinctively snuggled closer as if wanted more of his warmth.

Seeing the blonde mage rested comfortably in his arms, Laxus heart warmed. He didn't know if it was the change in her face as it got more peaceful or the fact that she buried herself in his jacket and snuggled into him more. Either way, both scenes brought warmth to his heart. He smiled to himself and started walking back to her apartment. The booze could wait, he thought.

The walk to Lucy's apartment was silent as it was nearly midnight. The streets of Magnolia was quiet, it was partly dark as the source of light only came from the dimmed streetlights. The cold night air blew softly against them, making Lucy snuggled closer to his chest. As he was nearing her apartment, he took the chance to look at her closer. Her petite body looked so fragile in his arms, he shifted to take a closer look at the beautiful blonde. Although it looked like she was sleeping peacefully, Laxus could see the dried tears under her eyes, her reddened nose, and slightly swollen eyes. She had been crying again.

A sudden groan made him looked away in a flash, face warming up as if been caught red-handed. Lucy opened her eyes and yawned.

'Laxus?' She asked quietly, puzzled as she rubbed her eyes to take a closer look at the person carrying her. Lucy could vaguely see the lightning-shaped scar. It was Laxus indeed.

Somehow, he liked how she said his name but only grunted in response, 'You're up. Do you want to walk?' he asked, seeing as she began to sobered up.

Looking away, blushing, Lucy shook her head softly. She didn't drink a lot, but her head was spinning like crazy. Vodka always had that effect on her, two shots in and she got knocked out instantly. Walking would just worsen her headache and to be honest, Lucy was comfortable, she liked how warm she felt in his chest. It was just... felt right.

The blonde dragon slayer gave a throaty chuckle, 'Okay, princess, we're almost there.'

When they arrived in front of her room, Laxus averted his eyes to the blonde in his arms.

'Keys.' He said to her.

Lucy looked at him quizzically, 'I didn't lock it.' She said as if stating the obvious.

Laxus looked at her incredulously, 'seriously?' he said as he opened the door to her room.

'You should think about your safety. No wonder crime rates spiked up recently.' He grumbled while shaking his head to which made Lucy rolled her eyes.

'I was just going to the guild,' Lucy complained, her cheeks puffed. 'Besides,' Laxus set her down on her feet. 'The landlord is a scary lady. Everyone's afraid of her.' She added, her arms crossed.

Laxus pursed his lips but didn't further the conversation. She was so reckless and it frustrated him somehow. They both stood there, looking at each other until Lucy broke the eye contact in the awkward tension, looking away, her cheeks slightly tinted red.

'Thanks.' She mumbled, small enough that no one except the blonde dragon slayer could hear.

Laxus smirked, 'what's that, Princess? You gotta speak louder.' He said.

Lucy looked at him crossly and puffed her cheeks, annoyed that he was teasing her and walk away towards the kitchen.

'Do you want something to drink?' Lucy called out from the kitchen after gulping down water. She was sobering up. Meanwhile, Laxus plopped himself down the couch and propped his foot onto the table.

Seeing that, Lucy lifted an eyebrow, 'Gee, make yourself at home why don't you?' she grumbled to herself to which, of course, Laxus heard. He let out a chuckle.

'What's that?' He teased.

'You know you should get your ears checked,' Lucy grumbled, 'Now, do you want a drink or not?' she added, getting annoyed.

Laxus turned his head to look at her, 'Beer, if you have one. Say, what's got your panties in a twist?' he asked, not breaking eye contact.

Lucy ignored his question, 'I don't have beer. Tea works?' She asked, not waiting for his answer and started brewing to which Laxus rolled his eyes.

'Well, that's weird, for someone who drinks almost every day.' He commented, snickering when he heard she snorted.

'Well, for someone who drinks beer every time, I'm surprised you don't have potbelly already.' She snapped back, 'and I don't drink every day.'

Laxus smirked cockily, tapping his perfectly toned six-abs. 'I take care of my asset well, thank you very much.' He said proudly.

'Asset, my ass,' Lucy mumbled as she brought two cups of tea and set it on the table. She sat next to him, putting a little distance between them.

The blonde dragon slayer took the cup and brought it to his mouth and muttered thanks. 'Well, I say your boobs are your asset, but yeah, ass could work too.' He sniggered and paused, seemingly realized something. He took another gulp and scrunched his face. Before he could say anything, Lucy smacked his head.

'Hey!' he protested, turning his head towards the red-faced, puffed out cheek, annoyed Lucy.

She crossed her arms, unconsciously covering her chest and glared, 'Perverted idiot.'

'I am not!'

'You are!'

'I'm not!' smack. 'Ow! Stop being violent, woman!'

Lucy stuck her tongue out, 'Stop being an idiot, then.'

They both stared at each other briefly before bursting into laughs.

'By the way, what did you put in the tea?' Laxus asked after their laughs died down. Lucy gulped her own tea.

'Sake.'

Laxus lifted an eyebrow, 'Thought you said you didn't have any booze.'

Lucy made a tsk sound and shook her head, 'I said I didn't have any beer, not I didn't have alcohol. You know, I think you really should get that ears checked out. I thought the perks of being a dragon slayer was having sensitive ears, I guess not.'

Laxus rolled his eyes, ignoring the statement. 'Then why did you drink at the guild if you have your own stash?' he asked again.

'It's for cooking, Laxus.' Lucy dead-panned.

Laxus paused. There she goes again calling his name. What was that weird feeling? It was like being tickled in the stomach. He quickly regained his composure and nodded understanding.

Lucy sighed after she gulped down her tea mixed with sake. Sake had a really calming effect on her, rather than tequila that could make her be overly hyper. Laxus was quiet. It seemed they had fallen into a comfortable silence, both trapped in their own thoughts. Lucy leaned back comfortably to her couch, she noticed the jacket on her shoulder. It was warm and smelled fresh; woody base complimented with citrusy top notes, she didn't want to give it back yet. Lucy leaned her head back and sighed, she let down her wall again. After she cried her heart out to Loke, she felt so empty she couldn't help but walk to the guild, to drink.

'What's with the constant sighs, Princess?' Laxus suddenly asked, his voice deep.

Lucy, with her head still leaned back, turned towards Laxus, making their face inches closer. He could feel her steady breathing blew against his chin.

Lucy looked troubled for a moment, 'Does time heal?' she suddenly asked.

Laxus was taken aback by her question. Where did this come from?

He pondered, 'I guess, sooner or later.'

Lucy took in his answer and turned her head, looking up at the ceiling. She didn't say anything and kept staring blankly at the ceiling. They had fallen into silence once again. Laxus frowned, the air changed, it didn't feel playful anymore, instead, it became somber. He stared at Lucy who seemed deeply in thoughts.

'Why, did someone break your heart?' Laxus hesitated. For some reason, he didn't like the idea of Lucy got her heartbroken. It ticked him off deeply, he didn't know why.

Lucy scoffed softly and muttered, 'I wish.' She unconsciously reached for the Aquarius' broken key necklace, that didn't go unnoticed by Laxus.

He was curious, but he didn't want to pry. He didn't think she would tell him, anyway. Heck, her own best friends didn't even know a thing. He wasn't even her friend, more like a mere acquaintance. Somehow that made his heart heavier. He didn't know what come over him but he wanted her to tell him. He usually wasn't like this. He was most of the time the type of guy who preferred to minding his own business. Despite his appearance and attitude, Laxus was a sensitive guy and since he saw her crying that night, he couldn't shake off the feeling of wanting to help her. Although most of the time he didn't like butting in other people's problems, for some he reason he wanted to know hers and help her get through it.

'It was a year ago.' Lucy didn't know where she got the courage, probably the booze, but she couldn't stop now. She was tired of holding it in by herself.

'Tartaros. Remember when you guys got stuck in the Alegria?' Lucy asked, turning her head to look at Laxus in the eye. The blonde dragon slayer didn't say anything, just nodded his head and focusing all of his attention on her.

'I was the only one that didn't get stuck,' she laughed pitifully, 'I know right? out of all Fairy Tail members, only this useless piece of shit that didn't get stuck.' she pointed herself weakly, her eyes were sad.

Laxus bit his lip, trying to stop himself from shouting and scolding her. What was she talking about? She most definitely not useless. She had proven herself over and over again and Laxus knew only one thing, she was the most courageous and intelligent mage in the guild.

Lucy continued, 'That time, I was cornered by two demons and the soldiers. There was a flood. I summoned Virgo and Loke and the three of us fought them. We fought them... but—' Laxus put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, her voice was breaking and he wanted to hug her so bad. Lucy exhaled.

'We were cornered. A-and I summoned Aquarius, mustering up every power that I had to summon and keep three gates opened. I-I was too weak. I couldn't hold them... and Aquarius... Aquarius said that when a celestial mage successfully opened three gates, we could summon the spirit king.' She looked at him, on the verge of tears.

'For a second then, I was happy. There was hope. But... Aquarius said, to summon the spirit king, we should... we should sacrifice one of our keys.' By now tears had escaped her eyes, Lucy held her necklace tightly.

'A-and... she said... I was... I have to—' her words cut off by a hug. Lucy's eyes widened in surprise. Laxus suddenly hugged her. He circled his arms on her, hand gently stroking her hair. His hug was stiff like he wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, afraid it might upsetting her but it also felt heartfelt and warm. Lucy gently hugged him back and buried her face in his chest, breathing in his calming scent.

'You saved us. Never think that you're useless, Lucy. You saved us.' He whispered, tightening his hug.

He didn't know this. He didn't know that Lucy got them out of the cube. He always assumed that it was Natsu. He didn't know that she went through something this awful. Even he was struggling with one demon. She was stuck with two and was forced to sacrifice her key. He knew Lucy enough that her keys were valuable for her. Laxus didn't know what else to think except that he cared for her deeply. Remembering her big, watery brown eyes made his heart breaks a little. He wanted to protect her at all costs. Laxus kept stroking her hair gently, whispering soothing words in her ear until she stopped crying and asleep in his arms.


	5. The Morning After

Lucy woke up with the smell of something burned. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, scrunching her nose at the smell. Lucy looked around, she was in her room, on her bed. Laxus must have moved her to the bed. She internally cussed to herself. Why did she have to sleep like that after practically barf her heart out? And she cried. Again. In front of the guy. Laxus probably thought she was a drunk crybaby by now.

Lucy got up from her bed, stretching and yawning and as she looked at her arms, she realized that she was wearing his last night's jacket. The green bomber jacket was oversized on her, the sleeves were so long that it covered her hands. Lucy held the edges and brought it closer to her, instinctively breathing in the scent. How could he smell so good? She brought her nose closer and breathed in until the smell of burnt made her stop.

That was right, she woke up with the smell of something burned. Lucy walked out, following the smell that seemed to be located in the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks, her breath hitched. Was Laxus still in here? She walked on her toes, trying to be discreet and peeked to her kitchen to find that no one was there.

She frowned in confusion. Did she cook something last night? She wasn't even that drunk, just a bit mellow and sleepy. So, what was the burned smell? Could it be Natsu? Lucy's eyes clicked, it could be Natsu, after all, he has a knack to showing up uninvited and unannounced to her apartment. Lucy sucked in a breath, eyes twitching, bracing herself to yell at Natsu and Happy.

She stomped to her living room and was about to yell angrily when she realized that her apartment was empty. Natsu and Happy weren't there. So was Laxus. The windows were opened, making the morning breeze blew inside. Lucy looked around in confusion and averted her eyes to the kitchen. She walked over and saw a pan with blackened pancakes and a plate with blackened eggs.

What the…

The sound of the door opened made her jump, Lucy grabbed the pan and quickly turned around and watched as Laxus came in, bringing plastic bags. He stopped after closing the door, realizing that Lucy had woken up and stared at him bewildered, hair sticking out, and eyes still droopy from sleep while holding the burnt pan in her right hand in a defensive stance. Seeing that, Laxus snorted and let out a laugh.

'What the hell are you doing, Princess?' he asked amused.

Lucy realized the pan she was holding and how it must have made her look crazy, and quickly hid it behind her. She puffed out her cheeks as she felt her face warmed in embarrassment. Lucy looked away, avoiding eye contact with him.

'Me? I was the one who supposed to be asking.' She sputtered out

Laxus chuckled and set down the plastic bags on the table.

'You don't remember?' he plopped down the couch, arm stretched out. 'You asked me to stay.' He smirked.

Lucy's frowned. Did she? She scrunched her face, trying to remember what happened. She thought she slept right away? Didn't she?

A laugh stopped her thinking, 'I could practically see smoke coming out of you head.'

Lucy crossed her arms annoyed and huffed. She put the pan in the sink and walked over to the couch and plopped herself down next to him. Laxus scooted over so she could have her space. As Lucy set herself down, she turned her head towards the blonde dragon slayer next to her and that was when the memories came crashing.

Flashback.

Laxus tilted his head as he felt her body became limp and a soft snore coming from her. She snuggled closer into his hold. Laxus stayed that way for a while, he could hear his own heart beating as it beat faster. He wrapped his arms tighter around the petite blonde, breathing in her sweet scent. This time she smelled like cherry blossoms. He usually didn't really fond of sweet stuff, but hers… This intriguing feeling he had for her kept becoming stronger and stronger until the point that he was sure this wasn't just intrigued anymore.

He was beginning to like her.

Did that even make sense? Could a person like someone without any contacts first? Before all of this, they never even had any decent conversation. But here he was, stating that he liked her. True, they never talked to each other before and her impression of him would probably the time when he turned her into stone and made her fought Bickslow; it was a bad impression. Would she even like him back?

He didn't even know how it had come to this. Yes, he was interested in her from the beginning, there was no point in hiding that anymore. Who wouldn't? She was a beautiful, kind, and generous person. Not to mention her really nice body and don't even get started on the boobs. He sighed, he was starting to sound like an old pervert. But it was true, just the sight of her could make anyone go crazy. But it was just a harmless thing in the beginning. He would occasionally look over her way, sometimes went the length of searching her in the guild. He couldn't help it. She was always smiling and laughing, and it just seemed so bright to him. Her smiles made him happy and warm inside.

He probably sounded like a lovesick teenager at this point, but he didn't care one bit. He liked her and he wanted to have a chance with her. He wanted the old Lucy back. He wanted to see those smiles again.

Laxus heaved her up, propping his hand at the back of her knees and brought her to the bed. He set her down gently, putting his jacket on her properly and brought the blanket over her. When he was about to straighten up, a hand shot up and grabbed the edge of his shirt. Lucy had woken up, her eyes still droopy.

'Stay. I don't want to be alone,' she said quietly, 'Not anymore.' She added in a small voice before brought her hand up to his chest and pulled his shirt, so his face was leveled with her.

Lucy pulled her head up slightly and tilted her head, kissing his cheek. Laxus froze. His breath hitched when her soft lips made contact with his cheek and he could swear his heart skipped a beat for a moment.

Lucy laid her head back to the pillow and gave him a small, sleepy smile.

'Thank you for listening, Laxus.' She said as she turned to the side and went back to sleep.

Laxus was still frozen in his place. She kissed him, no, it was more like a chaste kiss but still, Lucy kissed him. He walked back to the couch stiffly and set up a place for him to sleep in. Laxus laid down on the couch, mind still racing.

End of Flashback

Lucy sat still in her place as she remembered her 'little' sleepy act last night. It was almost comical how she reddened up like a thermometer, face burning. She could hear her heartbeat hard as she slowly buried herself in her seat. Lucy couldn't look at Laxus. How could she? She was embarrassed. She practically asked him to stay the night! And kissed him! That was when the realization hit her once again, it was like being struck by a lightning, making her tingling all over. She kissed him. She kissed Laxus. She kissed the insanely hot and handsome but scary Laxus. What was she thinking? Oh, that's right, she wasn't!

Lucy gripped the edge of her sleeves tightly and brought her hands to her face, groaning in embarrassment to which Laxus responded with a hearty laugh. Laxus put his hand on Lucy's head, ruffling her hair as she buried herself more into the couch.

'Oh, and the kiss too!' he added teasingly, making Lucy groaned and slapped his hand away from her already messy hair.

Lucy swallowed her shame but still looking at anywhere but him. She crossed her arms and huffed.

'Shut up.' She mumbled.

That only made Laxus smiled in glee, 'Kiss me, then.' He teased, making Lucy snapped her head towards him so fast.

Her blush got redder as she stuttered, 'Y-you—I, what?!'

Laxus smirked, 'If you want me to shut up then kiss me. That would definitely—Ow!' A smack successfully delivered to Laxus' head.

Lucy's eye was twitching, her face still red but was beginning to change into annoyance and anger rather than shame.

Laxus rubbed his hand on the spot where Lucy smacked him, 'What was that for?' he protested.

'Don't joke about it so casually, perverted idiot!' Lucy yelled, scolding him like he was a 10 year old which he responded with another hearty laugh, still rubbing his head.

Lucy rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his arm, trying to come up with a topic that could change the subject—so that she would be less embarrassed.

'What did you do with my pan?' Lucy asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

Hearing that Laxus' laugh stopped abruptly and he looked away, an uncharacteristic slight blush appeared in his handsome face.

'…to cook… left it…' was all Lucy got from his mumbles.

Lucy gritted her teeth, 'What. Did. You. Do?'

Laxus pursed his lips and winced, 'I tried to cook breakfast for you and set the flame too high on the eggs.' He admitted.

Lucy looked at him expectantly, 'And the pancakes?' she pressed.

Laxus' blush was visible as he glanced at her face, 'I set the flame low this time! But I left it to go to the bathroom… and forgot…' his voice faltered.

Lucy was silent for a moment before she cracked up and laughed until her eyes were tearing up which made Laxus' face got redder, which made Lucy laughed even harder. Lucy was having the time of her life, it wasn't every day you get to see the big bad dragon slayer flustered. Sparing the guy some dignity left, she decided to pipe her laughter down. Still, with the humorous glint, Lucy averted her attention to the plastic bag he brought earlier.

'What's this?' she pointed at the plastic bag.

Laxus grabbed the plastic bag and dangling it in front of her, the blush was gone, replaced by a proud smirk. Lucy chuckled. Boys and their dignity.

'Breakfast.' He said, setting down the plastic bag and got out a plastic bento box. 'I bought take outs.'

Lucy could only roll her eyes at his proudness but smiled anyway. She didn't expect him to be this thoughtful. It strangely made her happy.

Still smiling, she took one of the bento boxes from his hand, accidentally brushed with his fingertips. Lucy paused at the contact and quickly withdrew her hand.

'Thanks, I guess,' Lucy said.

Laxus looked at her incredulously, brows knitted in protest. 'You guessed?!' he exclaimed.

Lucy chuckled to herself, she purposely teased him to get back at the kissing thing. Lucy shrugged, keeping her face flat but her eyes still glinting with humor. She didn't respond and opened the bento box. She glanced at the blonde dragon slayer sitting next to her and giggled. Laxus was still looking at her in disbelief. She stared at him flatly, giving him a 'what?' expression to which he responded with a huff and pursed his lips, looking away and crossing his arms.

Oh lord. Too cute. He's practically sulking.

Lucy continued giggling upon seeing his antics. She figured since she had told him the truth about what was weighing her down and not to mention his supportive and warm response, she could be more carefree with him. It was rare, indeed, being this friendly with the big bad Laxus. Oddly enough, she liked it. She felt like she could be comfortable around him. With one look at the sulking dragon slayer, Lucy brought up her hand and pinched his cheek teasingly to which he became frozen in place.

He was taken aback. For a second, he sat still, his mind was racing and so did his heart. He was cussing to himself for having little control of himself and to Lucy for doing unexpected things and making him reacted in the weirdest and foreign way ever. Once he regained his composure, which was in seconds, he braced himself to glance at her. What he saw made his breath hitched, Lucy was smiling widely, her expression was highly amused.

'I was joking.' She said once Laxus turned his head towards her, and to his disappointment, let go of her hand that was pinching his cheek.

She gave him the warmest smile she could muster, 'Thank you, Laxus.'

There it is. Her smile.

Laxus, who was too dumbfounded just smiled back at her and nodded stiffly. He mentally smacked himself in the head, he was sucked at this. He found himself speechless a lot. After bravely admitted to himself that he liked her and he wanted to have a chance with her, this was the only thing he could muster. Being a dumbfounded fool. Great.

After that, Lucy turned her attention back to her breakfast. She was starving. Both her and Laxus ate quietly, with the occasional bickering here and there, still, they were getting friendlier towards each other. When they were done, both of them still talked and for some reason, the conversation turned into each telling funny stories about their teams' antics.

Lucy lifted her legs onto the couch, wrapping her arms around her knees as she listened to Laxus telling her a story about how Bickslow got chased by a mad boyfriend after he shamelessly seduced a girl. She then realized that she was still wearing his jacket. She grew comfortable wearing it and she liked how he smelled, too. She didn't want to give it back, but she already had one of his coats in custody already.

When Laxus was done with the story, which both of them laughed along at, Lucy got up and walked towards the bathroom.

'I'm gonna hit the shower—'

'Yeah, sure, I'll join.'

Lucy blushed furiously, how could he say that with a straight face?!

'N-no! you perverted idiot!' she stuttered, flustered. Laxus responded with a low chuckle. He loved teasing her.

Lucy quickly regained her composure and walked inside the bathroom before he could tease her any longer.

'Go home, you dork.' She said as she closed the bathroom door.

Laxus stared at the door and smiled to himself. He wasn't planning on leaving her any time soon.


	6. The Condition

Lucy took a deep breath as she dipped herself into her bathtub. She sighed contently as she soaked herself in the lukewarm water. Lucy closed her eyes and leaned her head back. She was strangely calm and content. It really was relieving that she didn't drink a lot last night, otherwise her head must be splitting and throbbing. She was glad. It has been a while since she had conversations with a good laugh, true, the tease was annoying, but she was still glad. The addition to Laxus in her life was giving her positive vibes. Sadly, she didn't know if things were going to stay or not.

It has been a while indeed. She still has Natsu and the gang, but, they didn't come over anymore, or rather they all were quite busy with their own problems and the only time the gang get together was for missions. To be completely honest, she enjoyed talking to him. Lucy felt like she was seeing the other side of the usually stoic faced dragon slayer. Though annoying, she didn't really mind about the tease, because she could easily get back at him for that, and judging from his reactions earlier, it seemed he reacted a lot. She thought about how adorable he was when he blushed and chuckled to herself. He was oddly a sweet person, too.

Deep down, she wanted things with Laxus to become something they could do on a regular basis because it was so refreshing. Although, part of her has worries that he's doing this because of pity. She didn't want that. She didn't want pity, especially from him.

After she was done washing up, Lucy got up and wrapped the towel around her. Thinking that the blonde dragon slayer took off, Lucy got out of the bathroom and walked towards her room.

At first, she didn't notice any sound. Lucy kept walking until she passed the kitchen where a loud clank was heard. Lucy snapped her head alerted, quickly shifting into a defensive position. That Laxus left the place unlocked! Well, it was partly Lucy's fault, but blaming the blonde dragon slayer seemed right. Without looking at the intruder, Lucy turned, and Lucy Kicked them in a flash.

'Oi! That hurts!' A deep, familiar voice yelled making Lucy looked at the person's face. She gasped.

The person was Laxus. An annoyed looking Laxus. He was rubbing his side from where Lucy kicked him. It seemed that both of them has yet to realize that Lucy was just wrapped in a short, barely reaching her thighs towel. Lucy stared at him horrified. Then, she glanced down at herself, then back at him slowly. With one quick motion, she covered her chest and her lower body and squatted.

'Y-you idiot! What are you still doing here?!' Lucy yelled, her face was flushing.

Laxus, who wasn't aware of the situation at first looked confused. He stared at the blonde mage squatting and flinched, quickly turned around, ears reddening.

Well this is awkward.

'I was cleaning your pan.' He said quietly, still surprised.

Seeing as the blonde dragon slayer turned his back to her, Lucy saw this as a chance to get up and bolt to her room. She quickly reached her drawers and got dressed in a flash. Her face still flushed and her heart was beating like crazy. Grumbling to herself, she got back to the kitchen after getting dressed, arms crossing, and face ticked with annoyance.

Laxus sighed loudly, seeing the blonde like that made his heart raced so fast. It wasn't like he never saw her in a bikini or other revealing clothes before, it was just that this was the first time he'd seen her up close. Like, really close. Rubbing his face, he faced the angry Lucy in front of him, smiling apologetically.

'Sorry.'

Lucy huffed and waved her hand, 'Yeah, yeah.' She dismissed, but clearly she was still pissed.

The air was awkward with both of them just standing there. Lucy shifted in her place while Laxus tapped his foot, trying to find something else to divert tension. He was so bad at this! Laxus was loss at words. He didn't know what to do nor what to say. Joking or teasing her would just worsen the situation, clearly. He didn't have anything new to talk about and he certainly did not want to go home just yet. He stared at the blonde mage in front of him closely, she was looking at anywhere but him, obviously still embarrassed.

Lucy, who couldn't stand the awkwardness then glanced at Laxus, 'What are you still doing here?'

Laxus paused, trying to come up with an answer, and then he remembered something. With a winning smirk, he said, 'My jacket. And coat.' He extended his palm.

Lucy pursed her lips, feeling a bit disappointed that he remembered. She really didn't want to give them back just yet. It was comfy and she felt like she was having a good night's sleep with it. She wondered what it feels like with the owner. If the coat was comfortable, wasn't the owner should feel more comfortable? She blushed at the thought and smacked herself mentally. Where did that thought come from?

Snaps of a finger made Lucy become aware of her surrounding once more. She shook her head and stared at Laxus' hand in front of her face. The blonde dragon slayer himself was watching her, eyebrows scrunched, and head tilted in confusion.

'Earth to Lucy.' He said, a playful smile etched in his face once Lucy realized she was zoning out and blushed.

Feeling as he knew the problem, Laxus withdrew his hand and crossed them across his chest, smirking playfully.

'I mean, you could just say that you want to keep them.' He shrugged, 'Your face just says it all.' He added, making Lucy glared at him weakly and blushed even more.

'You know I could Lucy Kick you again, don't you?' Lucy threatened weakly, still glaring, but she couldn't help but feel as she had been caught red-handed.

Laxus let out a laugh, 'Yeah, you injured me a lot from the first one,' he said sarcastically.

Lucy rolled her eyes, 'Fine, fine. I'll go and get them.' But before she could walk away, Laxus grabbed her arm and pulled her, turning her around so they were face to face. There was almost no gap between them as Lucy froze, staring up at him who was looking down at her. Her breath hitched at the intense gaze he was giving her. Desperately trying to calm herself—and heart down, Lucy stuck her hands on his chest, trying to push—but failing so there was some distance between them.

'I didn't say you can't keep it,' his voice was low and his chest rumbled as he said that, making Lucy shivered. Lucy's breath hitched in her throat, it seemed the cat got her tongue as she found it so hard to get words out. Not to mention his breath fanning the top of her head, making her feel like a nervous wreck.

Lucy squirmed under his gaze, stuttering words out but all failed her miserably. Seeing Lucy's flustering, Laxus gently let the blonde mage go to which Lucy quickly put some distance between them, sighing in relief. He let out a low chuckle as Lucy trudged to the nearby stool and sat on it. Laxus took the stool across from her and propped his elbow on the kitchen counter, resting his chin on his palm and smiled playfully.

'Don't you have something to do?' Lucy asked after a while. She really was curious of why he stayed this long.

Laxus tilted his head playfully, 'Nope.' He said, popping the 'p'.

Lucy grunted in annoyance, 'I bet your teammate's looking for you.' She tried again.

'Nope.' He said again, now smiling teasingly at her, 'Why, Princess? Don't you like my company?'

Lucy rolled her eyes, not wanting to be affected with his never-ending tease. Was this about how she asked him to stay last night? Or perhaps she was right. He did pity her, that's why he didn't want to leave her crying and drinking anymore. She sighed.

'Look, I'm fine. You don't have to do this.' She looked away and mumbled, 'I hate being pitied.'

Hearing the last sentence, Laxus smile was gone in a flash. He was a little bit taken aback. Did she think that he was pitying her all this time? He just wanted to spend time with her, wasn't that obvious? To be honest, he was a little offended, he felt as if she was implying that he did all of this out of obligation because he felt pity that she had broken her key. Then, how was he supposed to get his intention clear? Beside confessing, of course, he was so not ready for that.

Laxus looked at her solemnly, 'Sorry.' He sighed, 'But I wasn't pitying you. Is it so hard to believe that I might actually care about you, Lucy?' he asked in a serious manner.

Lucy became stiff. She didn't know how to answer that. He cared for her? But why? How? Her mind was racing with many questions but none managed to get out of her mouth.

'I-it's not like that—' Laxus held up a hand, stopping her mid-sentence.

'If you really wanted me to leave, fine. But I have one condition.' He said, crossing his arms, eyebrows twitching in expectant. He was gambling and he wasn't sure of how she would react. But, he would hate himself if he didn't try.

Taking the bait, Lucy raised her eyebrow in a confused manner, head tilting.

Laxus took a deep breath before smirking, 'Go on a date with me.'

There was a pause and when Lucy came to, her eyes bulged out and she stood up straight, rigid like she had been struck by a lightning. Did she hear that right?

'Eh?!'


	7. The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's their date!! this chapt is a personal favorite, hehe

Lucy rummaged through her wardrobe, dumping clothes that seemed 'not fit' behind her back, making mountains of scattered fabric. She was frustrated. Why didn't she have any decent clothes? Why was she making this much ruckus over what to wear? She didn't even know why she said yes to his invite, heck it wasn't even an invite, more like an order. A statement! God damn, she wanted to smack his annoying, handsome face so bad.

She was practically forced to say yes! If not, he wouldn't leave her apartment. She should be annoyed, doing this out of obligations. Right? But why didn't she? Lucy slapped both of her cheeks lightly, resisting the blush that was creeping up to her cheek. She couldn't shake off the feeling that she was rather… elated. Was that the right word? No… more like, thrilled? Deep, deep down, she was thrilled, but she wouldn't admit that. Her ego wouldn't let her. Why? She didn't know. Maybe because of the fact that he affected her in so many ways, she didn't even understand herself. Her heart still beating hard, like it was going to burst out of her chest. Not to mention, she was so fidgety.

God damn it, that guy.

She cussed loudly. After she said yes, Laxus beamed like a child given a candy, her heart—much to her dismay skipped a little. She was annoyed by him and how he made her feel. Almost as if… No, there was just no way. They barely know each other. It wouldn't make sense. Lucy sighed loudly, staring at the spot where Laxus' furry coat was hanging. Right before he was about to leave, Lucy bolted to her closet and grabbed the washed coat from her hanger and gave it to him. He was surprised and said that she could keep it and proceeded to tease her about it. Of course, she smacked him quiet. As for his other jacket, it was laid neatly on her bed. She didn't want to wash it. It smelled like him and she liked it. Maybe she would give it back. Maybe not.

Although there was one thing that made her more frustrated; why was she worrying about what to wear now? The date's tomorrow. Lucy smacked herself mentally for her unnecessary eagerness. Despite saying she didn't have any choice, she was too eager for the date. Still hadn't found anything to wear, Lucy sighed defeatedly and picked up the clothes that were scattered earlier. Once everything was put back to the closet, Lucy sat on her bed leaned back while grabbing the green bomber jacket, holding it close to her chest.

She did say that she wanted things with Laxus to be something done on a regular basis—well, to be friends, she meant. Friends. Yes, friends. Were friends supposed to be nervous every time they got close? Wasn't him asking her to a date mean that he also wanted them to become familiar with each other? To become something… more? A blush crept up to her cheeks. Did he really care about her, like he said? But why? They are comrades, but the idea just seemed too far-fetched. Well, she guessed she just had to wait and see.

In the meantime, she had to find something to wear for tomorrow. Lucy didn't understand, why was it so hard to pick decent clothes? The idiot didn't even mention anything, he just smirked and left. The least he could do was tell her where they were going! What if she picked casual clothes and he took them to a fancy dinner? What if he took her to have dinner in the guild and she overdressed? There were so many things that could go wrong, she felt tired just by thinking about it. But then again, why did she think about it so damn much? Lucy could practically feel the gears in her brain shut down at the overthinking.

It wasn't even certain that he was taking her out to dinner. What if he invited her to his house? Lucy blushed at the thought. But he already went to her apartment and stayed the night! She really needs to stop with the dirty thoughts. But how could she? Just thinking about the guy making her shiver in delight which something she didn't expect at all.

With a long sigh, Lucy got up from the bed and braced herself for the screaming and questions her friends going to give her. After all, she has never been on a date before. She needed their help whether she likes it or not. Or she could just crash and burn. That was honestly not a bad choice. Just imagining how her friends going to react was already so exhausting. Not to mention the she-devil. Lucy groaned aloud as she locked the door to her apartment—remembering the scolds of a certain blonde dragon slayer.

XXXX

Lucy was pacing back and forth in her living room nervously. Laxus was going to pick her up at any moment. She tried to sit and calm herself, but she was too fidgety and ended up pacing again. Yesterday, when Lucy got to the dorms, she directly went into Levy's room and both of them went to Cana's together. Truth be told, she was relieved to find that the she-devil aka Mirajane was having her shift that afternoon. Just Levy and Cana, she could handle.

After a long explanation, a lot of screaming, and hundreds of questions later, Lucy finally be able to calm both of their friends frantic screaming down. It was apparently out of their minds that Laxus had the ability to ask someone out for a date, but they were excited for their friend's first date nevertheless. Cana mainly gave her advice on how to look 'appealing'—her words, not Lucy's. While Levy's advice was mainly about how Lucy should act properly and not smack or worst, Lucy Kicked him out of nowhere, like what Lucy's been doing every time he got on her nerves to which Lucy pouted and protested at.

When they finally got to the main reason of why Lucy came to them, it took almost the whole day. With Cana's and Levy's very different styles, they got through each clothes with arguments. Cana gave her varieties of bralets, which were inappropriate for her to say the least. While Levy gave her dresses, which were too much for dinner. Lucy wondered again why she had come to her friends for help. In the end, they all came to an agreement with a black, long-sleeved turtleneck from Levy and a red button-up skirt that stopped at her mid-thigh from Cana. She paired those with her usual combat boots and her Aquarius necklace which she hid inside the top.

A knock on her door made Lucy jumped in surprise, she stared at the door for a second before taking a deep breath and opened it. Her eyes trailed to the person standing in front of her. The blonde dragon slayer looked handsome with his trademark furry coat and purple shirt. His hair was less wild with the new haircut that has the side shorter and the top spiky. She wondered how would it feel running her hand through his hair…

'Earth to Lucy,' Lucy looked up at the voice, blush creeping up to her cheeks as she looked away in instant after seeing Laxus' stupid smile. She couldn't believe she thought about that, so embarrassing.

'You seemed to zone out a lot lately. What's up, Princess?' Laxus asked, the annoying smile still etched on his face.

Lucy crossed her arms, still looking away, 'Stop calling me princess. I'm okay, shut up. Wait a minute, okay? Let me get my coat.' She said, brushing off his comments and took off to get her coat. Vaguely she could hear him saying, 'Well, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed.'

Lucy rolled her eyes at that. She did wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Heck, she couldn't sleep at all last night because of the nervousness and when she did, she woke up late in the afternoon.

'You gonna tell me where are we going?' Lucy asked once they were out of her apartment.

Laxus glanced at the petite blonde, 'My house.'

Lucy's eyes bulged in surprise as she stared at the guy walking beside her, stopping in tracks. Seeing the reaction of the petite blonde, Laxus snorted and laughed. He turned towards her and grabbed her hand softly and pulling her with him.

'Kidding. You'll see.' He chuckled deeply.

Lucy bit off a retort, partly because she didn't know what to say as she let him hold her hand. She stared at their clasp hands for a long time. His hand was rough and calloused, but he was holding her with tenderness and warmth that made her blush almost instantly. It was like something in her stomach was fluttering.

Ah. Butterflies.

A growl in her stomach suddenly was heard, making Lucy blushed even more furiously. Lucy looked away in embarrassment as Laxus turned his head to look at her amusedly. She brought her free hand to cover her flushed face and groaned which made him chuckled.

'We're almost there,' He said as he led her to the edge of the town, near the seashore.

They stopped in a corner where a small but spacious four-story restaurant stood. Little bulbs with warm, dimmed lights decorated the place making it feel homey. Lucy trailed her eyes at the beautiful restaurant before her, the top floor sat entirely under a glass skylight, viewing the starry night.

He squeezed her hand softly and led them inside where they were greeted by a polite looking waiter who led them into the top floor. Lucy was gaping in awe each time they passed a floor. The inside of the restaurant was nothing Lucy ever saw before. The first floor was designed to have retro vibes with vintage tapestries, the second floor was more modern looking where the bar and the kitchen were, the third floor has antique plates decorated the wall, and finally, the top floor where they sat under the glass skylight looking at the amazing view. She gasped at the view.

Laxus helped Lucy took off her coat and pulled her chair. Despite the cold night air, the inside of the restaurant was warm. Once she sat, Laxus took the seat beside her. Lucy took the chance to stare at the blonde dragon slayer next to her, she chuckled as she saw that he was pretty much seemed out of place because of his huge figure. Still, she couldn't believe that he knows such a place existed. She kept staring in wonder while he was skimming the menu. The latter seemed to notice the stare as he averted his eyes to the beautiful blonde beside him, awe and wonder etched on her face.

'What is it?' he asked curiously, a small smile played its way to his mouth when she jumped slightly at his voice, seemingly realizing that she was staring at him.

Lucy blushed and hummed, 'How did you find this place?' Lucy asked, looking up at the starry night, a look of amazement written all over her face.

Laxus coughed nervously and scratched the back of his head as a small, vague blush crept up his cheeks and ears, 'Well, um—I asked Mira for help,' He smiled nervously, looking anywhere but her.

'I hope that's okay? I'm not really familiar in this field.' The blush was appearing more vividly as his hand slide down to the back of his neck.

Lucy brought her fist to her mouth and snickered. To be completely honest, Laxus' blushing was way too adorable for her. He was still avoiding eye contact when she brought her hand to his chin, moving it so he was looking at her. Laxus' face was like being stunned, in other words, it was priceless. On top of that, his ears reddened which made Lucy chuckled.

Lucy smiled warmly, 'I love it, thank you.' She said and she meant it. She thanked him a lot these days.

When he saw that smile, Laxus swore his heart skipped a beat.

They both stared at each other for a while, both seemingly didn't want to break the eye contact first and were as captivated as the other as their faces unconsciously came closer to each other. When Laxus realized their extremely close proximity, he quickly turned his head away, making Lucy let go of her hand quickly, too. She instantly reached for the menu that was in front of her with a shaking hand, desperately trying to calm her erratic heartbeat down and biting her lips nervously.

The blonde dragon slayer cleared his throat awkwardly, clearing the unpleasant air instantly and waved at the waiter to come. When the waiter was at their table, they placed their orders. Still too awkward to talk to each other, both blondes were silent as they were waiting for the foods, looking anywhere but their companion. Finally, when the waiter got back with a bottle of wine, Lucy was the first to break the silence as the waiter poured them their wine.

Lucy's fingers were playing with the rim of the glass, 'So… you asked Mira for help?' amusement could be heard from her tone.

'You do realize what's the risk, right?' She looked at him pointedly and sipped on her wine.

Laxus looked unsure, 'Y-yeah…'

The blonde celestial mage smiled teasingly, 'Wow, you must be really desperate.'

Laxus stuttered, his mouth was gaping like a fish, trying to find the right comeback but found speechless. He really sucked at this. Since she had accepted his invite on a date, he had been overthinking every single thing; how he should act, how he spoke with her. He already told himself that he wanted to have a chance with her, therefore he couldn't play around anymore. Teasing and flirting aimlessly could only take him so far. But still, this thing didn't come naturally for him.

Lucy giggled at his attempt to come up with an excuse, 'I did, too.'

Seeing Laxus' confused face, she continued, 'I asked Cana and Levy for help, too.' She smiled guiltily. 'See, you're not the only one who's in unfamiliar territory here.' Lucy said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Laxus let out a laugh—along with the tension and overthink. 'Well, there goes peace at the guild then.'

Lucy's eyes clicked, she rubbed her face and groaned which made Laxus chuckled. Not only Cana, the notorious tarot reader knew, the she-devil matchmaker knew about this too. With their joined forces, Lucy couldn't even begin to imagine what life would be like after guild. Endless pestering, teasing, and the baby talks—ugh, Mira! They weren't even officially a couple—will they? but she could already figure what their friends would be like.

'But seriously though, this is your first date too?' Laxus asked after sipping on his wine. He knew the question was probably a little bit inappropriate to be asked on a first date, but curiosity beat him. He just couldn't accept the fact that the beautiful blonde beside him had never dated before.

It seemed the question didn't offend her, though, as her eyes perked up and exclaimed, 'I could say the same about you! How in the world is this your first date? I mean, you're that—' she stopped herself, biting the inside of her lips and smacked herself mentally for almost bursting out that she thought he was a very attractive guy. Well, he is. But she didn't want to admit that in front of him!

That didn't go unnoticed by Laxus as he smirked amusedly at her but decided not to pursue nor tease her about it. He propped his chin on his palm, his elbow on the table and looked at her.

'Well, I don't usually date.' He said pointedly, hinting at what he usually does.

'Oh…? Oh.' Was all she could say as her face slowly heated up. Of course. Why didn't she think about that before? No wonder Cana and Levy were surprised. Then what did this date mean?

Before they could continue the conversation, the waiter came bringing their food and placed them each in front of them.

'How about you?' Laxus continued.

Lucy swallowed her food and pondered for the answer for a moment.

'Uh… how do I put this, I never considered it before. It just never came to mind. I mean, the possibilities were always there but I never really gave much thought to it. Besides, before I joined the guild, I spent all my life being cooped up in the mansion and I didn't get much interactions.' She finished her wine and poured more.

Laxus nodded understanding, it made sense. After that, a comfortable silence fell between them as they ate their food. They made small talk occasionally and finished their wine afterward. Their dinner came to an end as the skies darkened and stars sparkled from above.

'I hear there'll be a shooting star later tonight.' Laxus said, piquing Lucy's interest.

Lucy's eyes brightened, 'Is this why we're at the top floor?' She asked as she glanced at the glass ceiling excitedly.

Laxus chuckled and stood up, fixing his coat on his shoulders which made Lucy turned her attention back to him, tilting her head, confused. He stretched his hand towards her, in return, she only stared at the hand confusingly.

'Not here. C'mon.' he said, nudging his hand. Lucy took his hand in hesitation, furrowing her brows but still obliged and stood up, taking her coat.

Hand still holding hers, Laxus led her outside after paying the bills—to which Lucy protested and said she could have paid for her food. He ignored her. They stopped at a quiet corner, he let go of her hand and faced her, closing the gap between them by putting both of his hands on her shoulders. Lucy was stunned by their close proximity, but before she could push him away, Laxus squeezed her shoulders lightly.

'This might be a bit uncomfortable.' He whispered, his breath tickling her forehead as bolts of lightning suddenly surrounded them.

She didn't realize what happens until a loud zap rang in her ears and they were teleported away. The sensations were weird. Lucy could feel the lightning around her as it cackled loudly, almost as if it was going to zap her, but it didn't. It also felt like the gravity was stronger and her body felt heavy as it pulled her, it was nauseating, to say the least.

Fortunately, it ended as fast as it started. She felt her feet touched the ground and stumbled backward, luckily, Laxus caught her first before she could fall. He was steadying her by holding her arms. Once she was set, Laxus gently let go of his hands, letting Lucy turned and looked around the place.

They were on top of a hill, on the edge that overlooked the city of Magnolia. Blurred warm lights adorned the city from afar. Lucy stared in amazement at how beautiful Magnolia looked at night. Then, she felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned and saw that Laxus was smiling at her while his finger was pointing upwards as if telling her to look up. She did and she gasped in awe.

Lucy was used to seeing stars adorning the skies, sparkly and beautiful. But, she never once saw constellations by her own eyes. She only saw them in books. What she saw now beats any books, the constellations were beautiful, and seeing from up there made so much difference than when they were at the restaurant. Lucy watched the sky in awe and couldn't help but felt touched.

She turned her attention back to Laxus, watching him with disbelief and gratitude for bringing her here. The blonde dragon slayer chuckled, happy to see that she was this happy. He took hold of her hand once more and led her to the place where they could sit comfortably. As Lucy sit in the soft grass, Laxus laid beside herm hands behind his back, watching the constellations above them. Feeling that her neck got sore from looking up from the sitting position, Lucy joined him and laid beside him.

The surprising thing was, she courageously grabbed his right hand that was behind his head and pulled it under her head, making it a makeshift pillow. She could feel her cheeks warming up because of her actions, but she didn't care. She liked this, besides, he was warm and so she instinctively snuggled closer into his side—almost left with no gap between them.

Laxus glanced at the blonde, feeling way over the clouds from their closeness. His heart thumped hard in his chest, he was scared that she could hear them.

'Can you tell me each of the constellations up there?' he asked in his deep voice, she could feel the rumbles.

Lucy glanced up at him and smiled excitedly and started to identified and explained each constellation. While she was speaking and pointing her fingers at each constellation gingerly, Laxus listened and saw how dedicated and affectionate she was to her spirits. It didn't occur to him how someone could be this pretty under the night sky. She was like a bright light that pierced through his heart and making him fall to his knees.

'You're so beautiful, Lucy.' He whispered just loud enough for her stopped in mid-sentence, his breath fanned her forehead.

Lucy wasn't sure whether she heard it right and stared at him hesitantly, 'W-what?' her breath came out shaky.

Laxus turned to his side and faced her, bringing his other hand to her cheek, caressing it softly. At the contact, Lucy's breath hitched, she could feel the blush furiously went up to her cheeks. He could probably see her flushed despite the dark.

'I said you're beautiful.' He said once again, making her heart thumped even faster which she was sure he could hear. She couldn't take her eyes off him as he stared at her intently.

Lucy bit her lips nervously, confused as to what to say. She unconsciously trailed her eyes to his lips and back to his eyes. It was probably her imagination, but she felt as if their faces were getting closer each second, as if both of them were closing the gap together, in sync. Laxus' thumb caressed Lucy's cheek once more and before she knew it, their lips touched.

His lips were soft and so were hers. Both were entranced by each other and their lips moved in perfect sync against each other. Both hearts hammered in their chest as none of them could believe that they were kissing each other. Lucy brought her hand his cheek and then his neck as he moved his hand to her waist, kissing her deeply. Lucy felt so far from reality like she was living in a wonderful dream. She didn't want this to end. She wanted to be him.


	8. The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a bit short, sorry!

It started not too long after the battle of Fairy Tail. The day he gone… a bit crazy for power. He was ashamed, to say the least. Ashamed of himself, of how he treated his comrades, his friends like some objects—a pawn for power. He completely underestimated all of them and got beat up badly in return. It wasn't a matter of pride anymore, he didn't care about that, it was the trust of his friends that was broken, the looks from their eyes—that was what he regretted the most.

He was particularly intrigued by the new recruit, the one that had the worst luck of teaming up with the flame brain. A girl named Lucy. He didn't think much of her at first, just that she didn't seem strong, a little bit annoying and such a cry baby. But still, she stuck by Natsu and his troublesome antics, that surprised him, but then he still thought that she was in no way fit to be a member of the guild. That was until she saw that she managed to defeat Bickslow. That sure piqued his interest more, but he figured it was just too late to get on her good side, she must've thought that he was an absolute egotistic jerk by then.

It was hard to put on a brave face back then, Laxus felt like he just wanted to run and get on his knees to beg for forgiveness from his friends. As he stood by the dark alley, bandaged up, he saw the lights and crowds died down as the festival was coming to an end. He sighed and walked to leave but soon stopped in his track when he saw a certain blonde mage fumbling with the knob of the door to her house.

The said mage stopped fumbling with the door and turned her head where she felt someone was watching her. A look of recognition filled her face as she sighed in relief. The girl smiled at him as if nothing was wrong.

Laxus watched her smile and flinched. How could she smile after that? Laxus knew—he could even felt it, how genuine that smile was. And so, he came to understand why she was called the heart of Fairy Tail. Robbed of all response, he could only nod stiffly and proceeded to walk away—to leave.

Just then, she spoke something that even now he still didn't know what it meant.

'Come back soon, will you?' Lucy called out softly.

Laxus stopped in his tracks and gritted his teeth, he couldn't turn his head then, he was embarrassed.

'Will do.' Was all he said.

He spent a lot of time thinking about what could she mean with those words. He didn't have the courage to turn back and ask her back then, but he desperately wanted to see her face again, specifically her smile. That smile that caught him off guard. He turned her to stone, made her fight and struck her by his lightning and she could still smile so genuinely to him? Just what is her heart made of? As if the gods above had heard his prayers, he was soon able to see her again though under a rather troublesome circumstance. And as they all held hands with each other, putting on brave faces for what was about to come, Laxus saw her across from him, holding tight to Natsu and felt a pang of sadness. He had hoped that he was next to her instead of Natsu. So that he could ask her what she meant back then and so that she could smile at him again.

As Laxus watched her from across, he came to understand once again how she could put up with the troublesome flame brain. She was strong. He could see that clearly from her eyes that shone with determination. He sighed admiringly. Damn, he wished he didn't waste those time thinking about taking over Fairy Tail. One thing for sure; he had fallen for her.

Laxus widened his eyes in shock and stopped. He drew away breathlessly and stare at the girl under him. Once the realization struck him, Laxus turned and sat, his back to her. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it in the process as those thoughts and feelings filled him. Has he always felt this way? If so, how come he just remembered it now? True, after Tenrou, he felt weird. A lot weird. Between asking for forgiveness from his grandfather and doing missions with the ever so loud thunder god tribe, he didn't have time to bother about the weirdness or noticed that he has forgotten about something at all.

A hand on his shoulder made Laxus jumped in surprise. He took in his surroundings. Right, he was on a date with Lucy. They kissed. Wait. Lucy… Kissed? Wait. He snapped his head quickly towards the girl beside him who was looking confused as well as concerned. He scanned her face, from her lovely brown eyes, her small nose, and her lips… that he had just kissed. It was real and it was her.

'Lucy,' he muttered as he cupped her cheeks with both of his hands.

Lucy looked up at Laxus in concern, her hand slid from his shoulder to his forearm and squeezed it lightly, 'Are you okay?' she asked softly.

He smiled and stared at her with tenderness. He nodded as stroke her cheek with his thumb softly and kissed her forehead lightly. Laxus leaned his forehead against Lucy's, he could feel his heart thumping loudly against his chest. He couldn't believe it. He kissed her. And she kissed back.

'Can I hug you?' he muttered without thinking.

Lucy snorted and chuckled, 'Now you ask for permission?' despite saying that, she circled her arms around his back and buried her face in his chest.

Laxus was grinning so wide when held Lucy's petite body, engulfing her in his tender embrace. He felt like he could explode with happiness at that moment. He chuckled to himself. So this was why he felt so empty these days. It was because of the missing memories. He didn't know how such a thing could even happen and why would it happen. It didn't make sense one bit, but he didn't care. The important thing was he was with her now.

'Hey, you'd tell me what was that all about, right?' Lucy asked in a muffled voice.

Laxus was silent for a second and let go of his arms around her and settled on her shoulders. She was looking at him expectantly which made him rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He figured since it was dark, she couldn't see how red he was (but Lucy totally could and it took all of her willpower to not pinched his cheek for being so adorable) and cleared his throat.

'No.' he said, leaning back with both of his hands supporting his body.

Lucy pouted, 'No fair. Tell me.'

Laxus pondered for a moment, 'No.'

'Ouch.' She pinched his cheek.

'Fine. Maybe someday.'

Figured that it Laxus won't say another word, Lucy sighed in defeat and rolled her eyes. She just had to wait, then. Then, Lucy leaned her head on his shoulder and they both fell into a comfortable silence while watching the quiet yet sparkling town of Magnolia from above.

'You know… this is going so fast, don't you think?' Lucy said suddenly, with 'this' referring to their relationship.

'I don't care,' Laxus replied, his head leaned into hers. 'I'm happy.'

Lucy chuckled and smiled, 'Me too.'


	9. The Celebration

Lucy held the handle of the large door which served as the entrance of her guild. Her knuckles were turning white from the constant force she used to grip the handle tightly—nervously. She took a deep breath and braced herself but stopped the second she thought about what might happen.

'Okay, maybe I shouldn't—right? No, I should. But—argh!' Lucy jumped restlessly and let go the hand that was gripping the handle tightly.

'Okay! Okay!' she exclaimed, 'you can do this, Lucy! Here we g—'

A snort stopped her on her tracks. Blush crept up to her neck as she remembered the company of another person. Lucy couldn't help it, she was too engulfed in anxiety. She whipped her head to the side, sending a glare towards the person that was laughing at her antics.

'Not funny, Laxus.' Lucy gritted her teeth and lightly punched his arm.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, 'Might I remind you that you're as fucked as I am in this?'

Laxus laughed stopped short and one could see the tension on his face as he gazed at the large entrance of the guild. He winced and groaned. Tapping his feet impatiently, his hand hovered on the handle for a second before dropping them to the side.

'Ha!' Lucy exclaimed. 'Let's just run. Only disaster awaits us there.'

Laxus snorted, 'I see the nerves got you, with the oracle styled talk and all,'

She grunted, 'Argh, you know this is your fault, right?'

'well, um—'

'True, the date was awesome, and I can't deny that it was successful…' her voice faded as her face slowly became beet-red remembering his soft lips moving in sync with hers.

Uh oh.

'hey—ouch!' Lucy glared at the blonde dragon slayer who was pinching one of her cheek so amusedly.

He proceeded to pinch both of her cheeks and then cupped her face gently, 'So cute.' He murmured as he brought his face closer and pecked her lips, making Lucy's turn more crimson.

Lucy stomped her feet annoyedly, 'stop doing things so spontaneously, god!'

'but I'm not god,' he said with an innocent tone, but his eyes were twinkling amusedly.

Lucy brought up her hand, 'Nope. I'm not doing this. We have a more pressing matter right now. What do you want to do? I only have two option; we run for it or— nevermind, I only have an option. Let's just run for it.' She began to turn and walk back to her apartment when Laxus grabbed her hand, stopping her.

He shook his head, 'No. It must be done now. We can't run from this anymore, Luce.' He squeezed her hands reassuringly and entwined their hands.

Lucy sighed and after a long time she gave in and nodded. She grabbed one of the handle while Laxus grabbed the other one. Lucy turned her head towards Laxus who gave her a smile in return.

'Together,' he said and both of them pushed the large door, revealing the large guild filled with their friends making ruckus like usual.

As she and Laxus stepped inside the guild, the noise died down and all of their friends turned their heads towards the both of them. It was a good minute of silence before somebody spoke up and yelled,

'THERE'S THE NEW COUPLE!'

And the whole guild erupted in cheers. Congratulations, gossiping, excitement, never ending pestering and questions and a lot of booze. Lucy felt dizzy with the sudden crowd surrounding her and Laxus, not to mention Mirajane, the devil herself already pestering her about wedding plans and reserved the spot for babysitter. Natsu was screaming fire, scolding at Lucy and "intimidating" Laxus while asking him on a duel—acting like her big brother. Gray went nude and was running around celebrating while Juvia on his tails with hearts in her eyes—even Lucy didn't know how that happen. Gajeel, on the other hand, was quick on his feet and took over the stage in a flash, singing his new piece dedicated to the new couple.

It was, to say the least, chaotic. Well, to be fair, fairy tail is always chaotic, but it felt overwhelming once the chaos' targeted at someone. Their entwined hands was the only thing that made her still putting up with the chaos thrown at her. Laxus squeezed her hand and circled her hand with his thumb softly.

If it weren't for Mira, they could've postponed this, heck, they could even hide this from their guildmates. But then a day after their date, in the crack of dawn to be exact, Mira, Cana and Levy burst through her door demanding reports on their date. Not too long after that, words already out everywhere. And when she meant everywhere, it's literally everywhere. Even the guys on canoe that often flirt with her knew about it. Both Laxus and her had to accept many congratulation everytime they walked in the city together, it was so weird.

Then they began to avoid everyone, especially their guildmates. The initial plan was to wait out until the excitement about them had died down, but time was running out. Lucy needed to go on missions because her rent was due soon. At first she tried to sneak in, but the guild was always so crowded and then she came into realisation that to sign up on a mission it must go through Mira first. Just her luck, the last person she wanted to interact with in the guild. Of course, being the devil herself, Mira already knew about that and to lure Lucy—and Laxus into coming to the guild, she threatened to reject all of Lucy's missions.

That was what lead all of this to happen. Utter chaos. Gajeel was still singing, with the usual off-key strumming. The exceeds was flying around bursting party popper and small confetti everywhere.

'Oh my god! My ship is sailing!'

'What—I thought you were shipping Natsu and Lucy'

'I thought you were shipping Gray and Lucy!'

'HUH? I AM NOT. Fess up, I knew you were secretly shipping Lucy with Romeo!'

'WHAT? IT'S ILEGAL, IDIOT'

And thus began a cat fight. But that still didn't stop the crowd coming onto them.

'Congrats!'

'Must be good in bed, he is, huh, Lucy?'

'Noo, Lucy is taken now'

'Shut up, old man, it's not like she's going to be with you when she's single anyway'

'Babies!'

'Stop crowding on my granddaughter in law!'

All of it went through Lucy's right ear and out the left in an instant. She gave an exhausted smile and laughed nervously at any comments her friends made. Laxus, who realized Lucy's tired face put his arm around Lucy's shoulders.

'Alright, folks. That's it for today, give my girl room to breath or I'll fry you off.' he said, smiling but his tone was threatening.

The crowd smiled nervously and dispersed slowly, leaving Cana, Levy and Natsu.

Cana hugged Lucy ferociously—obviously drunk and pulled her away from Laxus' arms. She stuck out her tongue at Laxus and gave him the stinky eyes, anyone could see the veins popping on Laxus' forehead. Meanwhile, Natsu was still pestering Laxus non-stop about wanting to have a duel to 'protect' Lucy's pride and innocence.

Cana laughed out loud, 'You already got Lucy for a full week. It's our turn,' she grasped Lucy's arm and lead her to the bar—to the she-devil.

Sigh. Might as well ask for the mission, then.

Lucy turned and waved weakly to Laxus which in turn smiled.

'Dang, Luce. You got him so whipped.' Cana commented.

XXXX

Lucy threw herself onto her soft bed and sighed heavily. She closed her eyes and put her arm over her forehead. Finally, it ended. Mira was pestering her like always, but besides that nothing more happened. She got the mission with decent reward and after that she and Laxus took off in a flash. She turned to her side and felt a weight beside her. Laxus sat and touched her arm, gently shaking her.

'Take off your jacket, first, hm?' he said softly, his mouth hovering on her ear.

Lucy hummed in response and sleepily sat up and took off her jacket, she threw the jacket to the floor and laid herself back in the bed which made Laxus chuckled. He groaned, laid himself beside her in a spooning position.

'Haa… what should I do…I think I've fallen hard for you,' he murmured into her hair while squeezing her body tightly, the warmth radiating off her made his insides feel tingly and happy.

Meanwhile, Lucy was trying very hard not to explode. She could feel her cheeks heating up to the point it might let out smoke. She didn't know what to say so she stayed quiet while hearing his steady breathing. Very steady and hot breathing on her neck. The hairs on her neck stood up and Lucy shivered involuntarily. She couldn't take it anymore and turned her face facing Laxus who was closing his eyes.

She didn't know whether he already asleep or not, but his expression was so peaceful, void of any frowns or the usual trademark grumpy face of his. Lucy lightly traced her finger on his scar and to his nose, and his soft lips. She always blushed everytime she saw those lips that had planted itself onto hers numerous of times. Lucy thought that she couldn't ever be used to kissing him as her heart would always threatened to burst out of her chest everytime he just did as much as staring at her, much less when he actually kissed her. It was a surprise to see she didn't have heart attacks from it. Lucy smiled to herself.

'How is it that everytime I'm with you, my heart always beat uncontrollably? And how is it that everytime I'm with you, I can't think about anything else? Maybe I've fallen hard for you too…' she whispered to herself, still tracing her fingers on his face.

This happiness that she felt feels too unreal, too foreign. It was as if it had been a long time since she felt like this. Lucy didn't want to let go, but she also felt scared. She likes the feeling as if she was high, but she was also scared of falling. What if this happiness doesn't last? Is she even allowed to feel this happy, after sacrificing one of her cherished friend? Lucy unconsciously grabbed her Aquarius necklace

Is it okay? Is it okay to let go…?

Her eyes became droopy as sleep began to take over her. She glanced at the guy sleeping beside her and lightly pecked his forehead. Smiling to herself, she said,

'Sleep well, Laxus.'


	10. The News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you are in for the ride on this one ;p

Morning,' A voice vibrated in Lucy's neck. She tilted her head and buried her face into Laxus' soft blonde hair, circling her arms around his broad shoulders and squeezed him into her hold tightly. Lucy smiled to herself, grateful to the scene she was in. Not one day has gone by without her waking up beside him, watching his broad chest moving up and down ever so serenely in sync with his small, yet firm breaths, his slightly opened mouth that in some occasions let out a surprising snore, feeling his warmth radiating off of his body with by the way he was holding her so close, like one who treasures dearly; as if she could break any moment.

She just wanted to be like this forever. He's so warm and comfortable. It was nice. His head moved in the crook of her neck, nestled in closer to her, making Lucy scrunched her nose because his hair kept tickling her nose. Lucy popped one eye open, peeking down at Laxus lazy grin against her bare collarbone. His eyes were still closed, and his arms were circling her waist. Lucy smiled to herself, he was just adorable. She shifted and stretched her arms, yawning.

'Morning—oof.' Laxus was suddenly on top of her, trapping Lucy between his arms.

'Well, this is nice.' She said, smiling suggestively while snaking her arms to his neck, bringing his face closer and planting her lips onto his. She could feel his smile as their lips moved together in accordance with their breaths, the feeling of his soft lips surprised her still as it moves teasingly, switching from an innocent chaste kiss, to a deep and passionate kiss. It didn't even occur to her mind for her when to breathe as she had done so naturally as she could feel him exhaling and she, too, followed suit.

Before long, she grasped his hair to deepen their kiss, which Laxus responded by what she assumed to be an approval grunt. They moved their heads together, as if they had telepathically agreed so, carefully not to bump their nose. Lucy was pleasingly enjoying the feel of his lips on her when he abruptly broke off their kiss. Before she could protest, Laxus lips had gone south. Pecking and nibbling her jaw, leaving trails of fire on her skin. She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling and almost wanted to play with the fire when she suddenly gasped. He had gone too south.

So, Lucy yanked his hair with so much force, his head couldn't help but got pulled upwards making him stop what he was doing. As rough as it sounded, Lucy had to learn the hard way that this exceptionally full of energy guy won't budge unless he got a kick on a stomach or a yank-until-hair-were-falling or even a not-so-gentle squeeze on where the sun doesn't shine.

The said guy stare at Lucy crossedly, 'owwie.' He whined uncharacteristically while Lucy just stuck out her tongue playfully.

Anyway, after the disastrous celebration at the guild, the joy and party quieted down after a while, giving both Laxus and Lucy a breath of fresh air from the constant booze and parading them as if they're a newlywed couple. It was embarrassing. Natsu came by a couple of times, demanding a duel for, again, "Lucy's innocence" but after the third visit Lucy had had enough and kicked him where the sun doesn't shine. He stopped coming after that.

She did the recent mission for a decent reward a couple days ago and now living rent free… for a month. Things couldn't get any better for her and Laxus, although, she is a exhausted by the guy's unlimited stamina. Seriously, Lucy missed sleeping.

Suddenly, Lucy jolted and squirmed. She half-glared half-giggled at Laxus' head that was happily rubbing against her chest.

'It tickles, you dork!' she scolded, pinching his broad shoulders which, of course had no effects at all.

Laxus grunted against her chest, 'Let me appreciate your boobs, babe. They're so fluffy.' His voice was muffled as he buried his head deeply into Lucy's chest.

'You-!' Lucy couldn't continue her sentences because Laxus swiftly grasped her waist and kissed her passionately. He caught her off guard when his sneaky hands went to her butt and squeezed it playfully making her gasped in surprise.

She could feel him smiling as they kissed as he snuck his tongue in and handled her mouth delicately.

Goddamn this man is going to be the death of me.

Feeling that she couldn't win against his charm and techniques, Lucy sighed and pushed him to break out their kiss. She puffed her cheeks angrily.

'Hey! We literally just slept like a couple of hours ago,' she refused sternly, pinching both of his cheeks.

Hearing that, Laxus pouted and scrunched his nose. He brought up his hands and make a pinching motion with his thumb and index finger. He gave her a big puppy eyes which did not suit him at all but oddly adorable in Lucy's eyes. But she won't give in! they did it all day yesterday and Lucy was dead tired. Sometimes she wonders where the heck did all that stamina came from. So, starting today she won't give in. As she steeled her will, she looked back at his adorable face. Lucy bit her lips at how cute he looks, but she can't give in.

'Fine.' Fuck. I'm such a sucker for cute face. 'I swear to god you're so cheating with that face!' she smacked his shoulder.

'Gotta do what I can for the boobies,' Laxus shrugged innocently and pounced on the celestial mage laying under him.

Lucy snorted but smiled playfully, 'Perverted idiot.' She mumbled before their lips locked onto each other once again.

XXXX

'Breakfast?' said a deep voice, startling Lucy who just got out of the bathroom, still clad in her bathrobe, droplets of water fell from her wet hair strands. She raised an eyebrow and stared at Laxus who was in the kitchen amusedly.

'Oho,' she said as she walked across the room, grabbing her underwear, her voice tinged with humor. That's a tad bit surprising, and worrying, to say the least remembering what happened to her precious pan—well it wasn't really precious, but yeah.

Lucy snickered to herself, smiling mischievously, 'I seemed to remember my poor, poor pan,' she turned around, hands on her hips, looking at Laxus amusedly. She loves teasing the guy, it was worth seeing the red-tinged ears of his and how he pursed his mouth, showing a slight bashfulness. It was all too adorable.

As expected, the guy in question pursed his mouth while his ears tinted pink-ish at the tease, making Lucy grinned in elation.

'Tsk,' he crossed his arms defiantly, 'It's takeouts.'

'and I practiced a lot after that time, too, y'know.' Laxus added with a small voice, avoiding her amused gaze.

Lucy's grin became wider and she laughed while running to Laxus and jumped at his back. She snaked her hands around his neck and hugged him tightly while rubbing her face against his hair. It was soft, almost feather-like, albeit looking like a mess of a bird nest. She rubbed her face some more, enjoying the softness tickling her face. She giggled.

'So adorable, uugh!' Lucy yelped, squeezing Laxus' neck tighter resulting in the latter grunted in discomfort at the sudden pressure. If he'd wanted to, he could fling her petite body to the ground in the blink of an eye, but he'd rather not, duh. He wanted to treasure her, heck if he could, lock her up so no harm could ever befall her—of course, she wouldn't like it though. So he did the next best thing.

With just one arm, Laxus let go of Lucy's hug—chokehold, more like, and swiftly pulled her to the front and grabbed her back while the other arm positioned at the back of her knee. He carried her, bride styled, to the kitchen stool in a flash and sat her down gently, as if a mere pressure could shatter her.

Lucy puffed her cheeks and stabbed two sausages with a fork and stuffed it in her mouth. Laxus snickered at his girlfriend's antics before sitting on the stool beside her. He rested his chin on his palm, he gazed at her and squinted at the sun rise that was gradually shining through the gaps of the window. He could vaguely make out specks of dust scattered around her, strangely, it looked as if she was sparkling under the warm sunlight.

Yes, he's aware that he's so whipped.

He traced his gaze from her face that was brightening up from munching the breakfast, her full lips which were moving in accordance with her jaw in an up and down motion of chewing—he always wondered how her lips stayed soft and rosy coloured even without all the products she used. Was it because he always nipped and bit it everytime they kissed? If so, then he had no objection of doing more of those. Laxus sighed in admiration, he lost count of how many times his heart did a backflip everytime he saw smiles forming on those rosy lips. At this point, might as well come out and dropped the "L" word at her. He had resisted the urge to say it since the end of their date—yes, he had fallen. Hard. He'd came out and say it already if it weren't for her state.

Right now, Lucy is anything but stable. Not that he was calling her crazy, God, it wasnothing like that. It was just that, all of the things that was happening the past week was just nothing but a momentary happiness—a distraction. Of course, it was a given that he was a bit upset that the relationship he was so treasured only acted as a distraction for her, but it was the truth that he had to accept and for the love of God, Laxus wanted nothing more than Lucy's wellbeing and happiness. Seeing as it is, the pillars supporting Lucy's mind was fragile. It could crumble any second because Laxus knew something was still bothering her, something that probably related to Aquarius, heck, every one of her problems probably related to Aquarius. She needed an anchor, but an anchor couldn't work well with its chain threatening to break, is it not?

Even with the days they had spent together with all the laughter and smiles, he would catch her looking distant or just blanked out in the middle of the night, face full of thoughts. He didn't want to be selfish as to drop the "L" bomb at her all of a sudden, adding more of her problems—not that he thought it would be a problem, well he hoped it wouldn't. Granted, it might take her mind off from Aquarius for a short while, but it wouldn't solve anything except for it to pile to be another problem.

Then one thing was sure of what he had to do; what he thought he had to do, to be exact. It was to search for the key and reunite them—Lucy and Aquarius. She would like that, right? As he absentmindedly stabbed a piece of sausage, he thought about the search. He hadn't told this to her, but ever since she told him everything about Aquarius, he had gone through every guild in Magnolia to search for missions or even information of the location of the key. He even dispatched his team, the thunder god tribe, to other towns' guilds just to search for it. It wasn't certain, but he did gain some valuable information that's worth trying. The only question was: how is he going to bring up the subject about Aquarius in the first place?

Laxus scrunched his eyebrows in deep concentration, the food on his plate now was left untouched as he glossed over with his chin on his palm staring intently towards the fork in his hand.

'… to Laxus…' fingers were flicking in front of his eyes, 'Earth to the pretty Laxy,' again, the flicking seemed louder and the voice seemed clearer, but he was too deep in his thought.

Without paying attention to the voice, Laxus sighed, mulling over the way to bring up the subject of Aquarius to her. He didn't realize that the latter—or rather the person beside him that was annoyed and began to position herself closer to him and stationed her lips right beside his ear. She took a deep breath.

'HELLO? ANYBODY HOME?' the yell made Laxus jolted from his deep thought as he reflexively covered both of his ears. Calming down his erratic heartbeat, his eyes twitched in annoyance, slowly turned his gaze to the person beside him.

Laxus pursed his lips, 'Did you just call me pretty?' the realization just came as he tilted his head. That was like a strike at his pride. Laxus? Pretty? Please, he didn't want to brag, but he was like, one of the most eligible, and not to mention hot bachelor in all Fiore according to the Sorcerer's Magazine.

Lucy snorted ungracefully, covering her mouth to suppress the laughter. Her eyes twinkled amusedly. He was, indeed, wasn't pretty. Heck, pretty wouldn't even be the first word that comes to mind when looking at him. If anything, he's sexy. Although, it was a bit embarrassing for Lucy to think about it—let alone say it out loud, it was a given that Laxus, with all of his glory is sexy. Not that any of it matters, she just wanted to tease him.

By the time Lucy had stopped laughing, she peeked at Laxus' face, which was pouting so adorably, and turned her head towards him. Smiling sweetly, she asked,

'So, what were you thinking about?' she blew some hairs out of her face, then turned her attention back to him.

Biting the insides of his mouth, Laxus contemplated of how to bring up the conversation about Aquarius. He can't be too hasty with this as it really posed to be a sensitive subject to her and it wasn't like she told him about her feelings regarding Aquarius from time to time so he didn't really know the stance he should take. Laxus rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, not wanting to delay the reply any longer, but still find it hard to know what to say. Should he just go for it? Should he make small talk first? Like talking about the weather, or the pay—wait, what pay? His mission? well now he doesn't make any sense. He was lost.

Feeling as if the anxieties caught up to him, Laxus burst out the reply without further thoughts, 'Date!' great job, brain. He smacked himself internally. It wasn't even close to bringing up the subject.

He closed his eyes and exhaled, there was no turning back now. Might as well just continue with it. Who knows, maybe there'll be another chance to talk about it. Laxus beamed at the confused Lucy.

'Y'know, I was thinking we should go for a date. Well, I wouldn't say like a date date but like, a walk, yeah, like I really wanted to walk together. Maybe to the park, or to the guild—wait definitely not the guild, um, well the point is—' his ramblings was cut short by the sound of Lucy's giggles.

Well done, you're officially a stuttering idiot. He really wanted to punch himself. Maybe he'd get a grip and stop being so nervous. What the hades hell made him so nervous anyway? Nevermind, it didn't really matter as he could just "casually" bring the topic up on their walk. Yes, he can do this. He was a smooth talker, no, he still is a smooth talker.

Anyway, Lucy was giggling. Laxus stare at her baffled by the overjoyed giggling, it looked like she was enjoying his stuttering show way too much. It wasn't long until her adorable giggles turned into a full-blown laugh, making her clutch her stomach as the laughs got harder.

'Sor-' She snorted, making Laxus rolled his eyes, 'Sorry, sorry,' She exhaled, wiping the tear that escaped from her eyes.

Lucy jumped from the stool and reached out both her hands to Laxus' cheek. Too bad, his reflexes proved to be disabled when he was around her as she managed to land yet another one of her pinches, a very brutal pinch, to be exact and not to forget the 'So adorable!' exclamation leaving his poor, poor cheek stinging for the next 5 minutes.

Putting her hands behind her back, Lucy looked up, staring at Laxus' eyes. Again, she smiled happily, making Laxus heart do a bunch of flips.

''Kay! Lemme change real quick,' she beamed before running off to her bedroom to change her clothes into something comfortable.

Not later than 10 minutes, they were already outside, walking throughout the pavements leading to the big cathedral at the center of the town. Instinctively, they wordlessly agreed on avoiding the path which might leads to the guild, or any of the members' hangout place. Both of them would like a very peaceful morning. Laxus was walking not too far behind Lucy who was skipping happily with hands inside the pockets of her hoodie, he watched as Lucy's expression changed to contentment when a gush of wind hits her face gently, blowing her hair out of her face. It was so surreal of how she looked more and more like an angel, as if she was ready to burst her wings and fly off, embracing her freedom.

With hesitation in each step, Laxus was getting more and more anxious as to how he was going to talk to her. Of course, his restlessness didn't go unnoticed as Lucy suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned her head towards him. She chuckled and gave him a knowing smirk.

'So, what's got your panties in a twist?' She chortled at her own choice of word, because of the thing she learned about Laxus recently which was; Laxus really loves spots patterned underwear, spots as in like the spots on cheetahs, what was it called, Lucy didn't really know. Anyway, it was hilarious seeing him in it. Not that it didn't suit him, on the contrary, the patterned underwear suited him too much it was scary.

Laxus, who was too jittery to notice the humor in her voice flinched, he wasn't ready for this. Fuck smooth talker, he didn't have any preparation for this.

'Oh! You noticed, didn't you? Haha. Yeah… Um- So…' He stammered, trying to find the right words. Anyone could practically see the gears overworking in his brain.

Lucy tilted her body to the side and pushed her face forward so that he was face to face with her as if coaxing him to tell her.

'C'mon, spit it out. What is it?'

'Uh…' he contemplated, 'Actually, I have an interesting news for you.' He paused, Laxus decided to not bring up the subject head on and instead he chose another way by mentioning a related mission, in hope that he won't came across too aggressive.

'The other day, I came across this mission at the other guild, it was an S-class and the members said that nobody could complete the mission. Well, you see, at first I didn't so much as glance at it because the rewards weren't interesting…' he stole a glanced at Lucy's expression to see that she was carefully paying attention.

'But then I heard one of the members talked about why the mission was tough despite the simple request. The person was the one that recently failed that mission, he said that he was able to complete all of the stages to the request but something was weird. He said that an unknown being was preventing him to go to a certain place—which was required for him to pass through,' Laxus paused again and took a deep breath. He will drop the bomb.

'The strange thing was, that "being" kept muttering to stay away from that place. He claimed that, it looked as if that "being" was protecting something because it kept pacing on the same spot. The guy was very curious and he tried to take a look at what was behind or what was that thing was trying to protect. He didn't get very far though because the thing instantly rushed and tried to attack him, but he did see something for a second when the thing advanced towards him.'

Again, Laxus glanced at Lucy to try to figure out what was she thinking by observing her expression. So far, no drastic changes on her expression, it seemed as if she hadn't realized where this conversation was going.

Fidgeting his finger, he continued, 'What he saw a key, Lucy. A gold key.'

There. He dropped the bomb. Laxus continued to play with his fingers nervously, all the time he told the story, he didn't dare to look at Lucy's face for more than 5 seconds. So, he was hesitating on whether to look up and see what kind of face she was making. He was scared. Will she be elated? Surprised? Sad? There was just one way to know.

He slowly moved his head, he shut his eyes tightly before staring at her face. Laxus gasped. What he saw truly wasn't what he expected. Lucy's face was void of all emotion. Her face was blank, and dare he say, she really looked like a shell of a person. Gone was the contentment in her eyes earlier, the only thing left was just blank eyes that only knows how to blink.

Laxus instantly filled with dread. What should he do?

Lucy blinked one more time before finally said something.

'Oh..' she smiled, but it felt forced. 'Really?'

'Yeah,' Laxus scratched his head nervously, he felt like making a huge mistake, but he couldn't just stop talking about it now. Maybe, maybe if he proposed the idea to take the mission, she might feel better? After all, it's him, there was no way they would fail the mission.

'So? Isn't it a sign to go? I say we try it, what do you think?' he looked at expectantly, but the expressionless face didn't change.

Something clicked inside Lucy and she suddenly stare at Laxus' eyes.

'Um. No.' She replied curtly, her voice was small.

Laxus blinked. 'What?'

'I won't go.' She whispered, 'I won't go.' She repeated in a louder voice, it was so close to break.

There was a pause before Lucy furrowed her eyebrows and gritted her teeth.

'I'm done.'

Laxus frowned and looked at her incredously.

'What do you mean you're done?' he demanded, much harsher than he thought.

Lucy looked at him disapprovingly and sighed, 'I don't want to talk about this anymore, Laxus.' She began to turn away but was stopped by Laxus who grasped her shoulder.

'Huh? Why? Think about it, that Yukino girl has two and you have nine now, so it couldn't have been any other key. There was no mistaking it, Lucy. It's gotta be—'

'Shut up! I said I won't go.' She yelled, making him flinched. He didn't understand. Why? Why?

Both of them could feel the tension skyrocketed after Lucy's yell and Laxus was too bewildered to stop pursuing the subject. Just what made her act this way? It almost seemed like she was giving up—no, it seemed as if she already gave up and no matter how much he loves her, this wasn't right. You don't abandon family. He knew that much.

'But why?' he insisted. He wasn't gonna let this matter go any time soon.

'Just—ugh! I said I'm done! Don't you get it?' her expression was exasperated.

Thankfully, the street they were on was quiet in the mornings because their conversation just took a turn for the worst as they were beginning to yell at each other and neither showed any signs of backing down.

'Oh, so you didn't care about finding her anymore?' He knew that was a low blow, but he was too frustrated with her answer.

Lucy went quiet, her face was bewildered, he could feel the shock and fury from her. She was seething after hearing him say that.

'Don't put words in my mouth.' She hissed.

But Laxus was too in his insinuation too care, 'I thought you guys were close, I thought you were family.' The words couldn't stop. He couldn't help it. Families are sensitive for him, especially abandoning families. He done that and he hated it. He didn't want Lucy to feel the regret that he felt. It was agonizing, every night it came clawing at your heart, Laxus was lucky that everyone at the guild forgave him and the fact that they were still there. But there was no telling it with Aquarius, right? Who knows when someone might found it.

Laxus didn't want Lucy hurt, so he had to do this. He had to say those mean things in order to get Lucy back on track for her search of Aquarius.

Please, Lucy.

But Lucy couldn't see the motives behind Laxus words. She was too furious with him.

'It's none of your business. Can you stop it?' she stopped yelling, but her tone was worst. It was colder than Laxus could've imagine.

Lucy stare at him indifferently, but he could still feel her seething with anger.

'You know what? Just—don't. Don't come see me for now. We barely knew each other anyway, let's stop this.' She spat.

With that, Lucy turned the other way and walked away. Laxus world came crashing down at him, he was at loss for words and could only glare at the ground.

This isn't supposed to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls dont kill me, it's tagged angst for a reason XD


	11. The Friends and Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit from Lucy's POV, hope it clears up the incident from the previous chapter

A couple of nights before the fight.

Lucy laid down on the bed, sighing. It had been a long, chaotic day. Two days had passed since Lucy and Laxus announced their relationship to the guild and they still celebrating non-stop, though for Cana it probably another ordinary day. Not to mention, they kept trying to parade both of them to the whole town. It was truly hectic. They had just got back from another party held at the guild and yet again there was another scheme that their friends came up with. This time, it was made by none other than the guild master aka Makarov Dreyar aka Laxus very own grandfather which was "secretly" trying to set them up with a priest, why the air quote? Because it was plainly obvious when Makarov dragged them to the cathedral saying it was to "bless their relationship" which was for him, another term to get married. Yes. He was trying to get her and Laxus to marry.

Well, it's not that she didn't want to. But, damn, it wasn't even a month yet.

Laying down after chaotic days and sleepless nights made her strangely feel light. Lucy felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off of her shoulders, yet something still feels amiss, like how it feels when you forgot to put on your lucky tie—no, not quite, more like when you finished a test but forgot to check whether you had filled your name or not. You felt relieved but strange. Considering how she usually spent the night, it would make sense of how something felt strange as she usually pent up in the bar, drinking 'til she couldn't stand.

Lucy glanced at the figure beside her, she could see the rising and falling of chest steadily. Not long after they got to her apartment, Laxus instantly went out like a light the moment his head hit the pillow. It was understandable, considering how drained he was as he mostly covered Lucy when the members told her to drink or do things. She gave a long exhale, one that filled with gratitude. Sometimes, she asked herself, how did she get to this point?

Those dark and heavy time seemed so long ago, despite it hadn't been over three weeks since she stopped and so, the memories still vividly engrained in her brain as the feeling of desperation. Those sleepless nights. Sleepless, dull yet full of despair nights with only alcohol acted as a catalyst for forgetting things. She could also say that it was a way to punish herself. What's better way than destroying one's liver? Haha, Lucy was so pathetic then.

That was why, staring at Laxus' sleeping figure beside her gave her warmth she never thought she could feel again. She felt so much gratitude for that person and a single 'thank you' won't even come close to how she really felt. She was glad she had another person that knows about her problem, it was too hard to confide to her friends and she was damn glad she told everything to someone, albeit drunkenly. Lucy knew, she has truly, fell for him. Truthfully, she had never fallen in love before, so she didn't exactly know if what she's feeling was love. She understood that it hadn't been too long since they got together, and it could've just been a blunder. But do blunders happen every single day? Every minute, every second she felt with him was… liberating. Feeling high, was another way to describe how she felt everytime they were together.

Even the days when she's not with him felt with the urges to go see him. She didn't know what's normal and what's not anymore. Missing him every time they parted, wanting to be with him every minute, feeling jittery when he was a bit late, was all that even normal? Despite all of that, she has yet to reach the decision—not that "love" could be decided.

Anyhow, with each day passed, she was more and more sure of the gnawing feeling in her heart. It was too surreal, having her heart beat so loudly when he closed the gap between them, or how knees got weak when he planted his lips on hers. There was no mistaking it. She definitely had fallen for him.

Which was why she was in such a huge dilemma. Even if she confessed her feelings to him, Lucy felt like it won't be enough, like something was wrong. Of course, Lucy already figured out the main problem; which what has burdened her lately. It was none other than Aquarius. Finding her key. Honestly, Lucy was tired. And these couple of days made her realize something that she, really, had been on her mind for a long time. And that was; she should just give up on finding her key. She was so close, the puzzle has yet to finished before she confessed, but that one missing piece made it so hard for her to finish the puzzle. It was like finding needle in the haystack and she had searched every haystack there is—maybe not all, but it was a lot.

Albeit guilty, the temptation to give her up was adding up with each day and she was so close to really give up. Maybe she should. After all, she's happy now. She has Laxus and life couldn't be better these days. Having him in her life really changes a lot of things. It was like bathing in the sunlight after a long time got cooped up in the dark. He became her hope. Her light. So, it made her scared. To her, those days wallowing in sadness and despair were the dark days in which she didn't want to get through it again. She was too accustomed to the warmth to ever want to go back to that cold place.

She was ready to make up her mind…. Until their fight.

Present time

'Oh so you didn't care about finding her anymore?'

When Laxus said those words, Lucy felt her heart fell. She suddenly felt heavy as her breath hitched in her throat. The urges to cry was what came first, but then she bit her lip and a tinge of anger surged through her. Those words felt like a huge spear struck her pride.

Trying to keep her emotions in check, she gritted her teeth and hissed, 'Don't put words in my mouth.' Her breath kept hitching in her throat as she felt her heart becoming more and more heavier. Lucy clasped her hands together, to stop her hands from shaking and praying to god for Laxus to drop the subject.

Truth be told, hearing that there was another chance at finding Aquarius made her happy for a moment. At first, she felt so much hope, but then those murky feelings struck her, and she remembered those dark days in the bar again and fear consumed her. Those feelings terrorized her.

Unfortunately for her, Laxus kept going.

'I thought you guys were close, I thought you were family.'

The words came without warning and Lucy snapped. The emotions that she held back before suddenly burst out and all she saw was red. The words, yet again struck a nerve. Her pride. Deep down, she knew he said all of that for her, but she was too blinded to hear reasons.

And so, blinded by the anger, Lucy said words that she came to regret. It wasn't until she got back to her apartment, that she realized what she just said. Lucy leaned towards the door after she closed it, tears began pricking Lucy's eyes as she slid down the door to the floor. The once soft sobs turned into a bawling.

What should she do now? It wasn't like she could withdraw what she said. The damage has been done. Should she come back and say sorry? Maybe that would be better. But her pride prevented her to do that. Lucy wasn't actually angry at him, more like she was angry at herself. She was ashamed of herself. Everything Laxus said was true, but she still cares. She does. But she was scared, and that made her gave up. What Laxus said smacked her back to her senses, making her remember who she was fighting for. Aquarius was her friend. Heck, she could even be Lucy's mom. Lucy was about to give up on her family.

Lucy knew better than anyone how painful it was to be abandoned by family. Her mother's death, her father negligence, it was all painful times that she wouldn't want to get through again. What she was doing was none other than abandonment and it made her sick to the stomach, realizing that she was about to do that.

The tears won't stop, and Lucy still cooped up with her arms circling around her legs and head rested on her knees. Her breath hitched each time she tried to take a breath to calm herself down. She ran her hand through her hair roughly and grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling it frustratingly. Lucy wanted to punch herself. Granted, what Laxus said shook her so much she was forcefully made to realize who she was giving up on, making her feel disgustingly guilty and ashamed at herself for even thinking of giving up, which in turn fueled her anger. But, that anger, the anger she lashed out at Laxus was unjustifiable.

'I'm sorry,' She choked in between her sobs, 'I'm sorry Laxus…'

After bawling her eyes out for approximately five minutes, her erratic breath slowed down, leaving only the heavy feeling she felt in each breath she took. The sun had yet to reach the apex, but the light already shined fiercely through the gaps of her curtain. Strangely, the apartment felt cold to her.

Rubbing her eyes from the tears that beginning to dry, Lucy stood up slowly and groggily walked over to the kitchen. Once she was there, her tears threatened to fall again, remembering how not too long ago Laxus was standing right there, preparing for their breakfast. She was truly an idiot.

Coughing, Lucy felt how dry her throat was and grabbed a mug to fill it with water. Her hand hovered on the sink for a second, pausing to then retracting her hand and put down the mug on the kitchen counter. She walked towards the farthest cupboard and opened it hastily, as if to make sure she won't back out. Tip toeing, she rummaged through the depth of the cupboard, grazing every stuff in there until she felt with her hand a round, glass bottle. She grabbed that bottle and put it down on the kitchen counter, next to her mug.

Staring at the bottle of wine impassively, Lucy opened the screw and pour the wine to her mug fully, almost to the brim. She remembered how she said to Laxus she didn't keep any booze in her apartment, that seemed like a long time ago. She was partly lying. At the time, it didn't cross her mind as she also had made a promise to herself to never drink that wine—it was a keepsake, from her father, long before she turned alcoholic.

After gulping down half of what's in her mug, Lucy scoffed pathetically at herself. Drinking alcohol after cowardly abandoning her family with the excuse of the fear of drinking like she used to. What an irony. With one last swing, she gulped the rest of the wine until there were no drops left. She licked the excess off her lips, actually missing the bittersweet taste of wine. Lucy was contemplating to pour another glass but decided to be against it. Even though the wine tasted so well, Lucy didn't want to go back there. She knew she didn't have enough restraint yet to control how much she drinks. Lucy felt like crying again but before the tears could well up in her eyes, she slapped both of her cheeks.

'Get a grip, Lucy Heartfilia. You just hurt someone you deeply care about, you better fix this mess if you don't want to lose him.' Once again, she brushed her eyes, rubbing it clean from the excess tears and pinched her cheeks.

Thinking of how she wanted to change "care" to "love" made blush creeped up her neck. She covered her mouth with her hand embarrassedly, smacking herself internally for suddenly thinking about that. It was so not the time to think about that. She'd better do something about the situation fast or she could kiss confessing her love to Laxus goodbye.

First of all, she got to figure out about Aquarius. True, hearing about the possibility that it was indeed Aquarius' key on that place made her overjoyed as well as terrifies her. Of course, she would have to try it, right? She had to take the chance, after all she didn't have many choices. It was either trying as hard as she could or cowardly hiding and not achieving anything. The right answer was fairly obvious to her. But it still terrified her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, as well as the murky feeling from earlier that was trying to creep up on her, she decided to do the former.

Perhaps it was really right this time, and this time she got Laxus by her side. It wouldn't be bad, she sure of that. Laxus would always stand by her, after all it was her that said Laxus was her light, her hope. Surely, if she got into the dark place again after that mission, Laxus would become her light again, saving her from that cold, dark place… considering he didn't already hate her now.

Lucy smacked herself for real this time.

What the fuck was she thinking, broken off their relationship arbitrarily like that? After lashing out at him, too. It wouldn't even be a surprise to see that Laxus won't talk to her anymore after that fiasco she pulled. For the hundredth time, she was truly, an idiot.

Would an apology even cut it? Maybe she should seduce him, but then again that would be so offending. He wasn't a sex crazed animal. Should she kneel? Lucy groaned in frustration, scratching her head. At times like this that she needed her incredibly intrusive friends. After washing her face in a cold water, she ran off towards the dormitory to visit her friends.

XXX

Sitting down in the furry carpet, Lucy leaned back towards the foot of the couch, settling herself between Erza's knees. Cana was sprawled on the carpet, her head on Lucy's thighs while Levy laid on her side across Lucy with her elbow supporting her weight, flipping over her book to mark the parts she was reading.

Once Lucy got to the dormitory, she wasted no time to assemble her friends. Thankfully, they weren't busy, so it was easy to quickly get together. All of them, besides Levy, simultaneously agreed to go to Levy's room as it was the cleanest and spacious room—not minding the books comparing to the other two. Cana's reek booze and Erza's stuff were too much they wouldn't any place to sat or laze around.

Lucy was fiddling Cana's hair when Cana suddenly stood up and fished out the flask in her pocket. Levy eyed Cana's movement carefully.

'Girl, careful not spill it again,' Levy warned, giving her a pointed look which Cana replied with a guilty smile. After making sure her precious carpet was safe, Levy turned her attention to Lucy.

'Spill.' She commanded, making Lucy sit up straight.

'Yes, ma'am.' Lucy blurted while Cana and Erza snorted.

Lucy pursed her lips annoyed at her two of her friends. She couldn't help it! Lucy hadn't gotten used to this side of Levy yet. Levy always turned curt and business-like whenever each one of them had had problems they need to confide in.

However, before Lucy opened her mouth, Cana spoke up.

'Ah, to make it easier, wanna sip? you looked a bit tense, there, babe,' she offered her flask, her face was worried.

As much as she wanted to, Lucy held up her hand, 'I'm okay, thanks. Besides, I already drank quite a bit earlier.' Cana nodded.

Lucy took a deep breath, 'We fought.' Her friends all gasped collectively.

'What?'

'How?'

'I swear to god, I'll kill him!'

The questions came simultaneously with all of her friends demanding her to tell them and a little bit of Erza getting mad at Laxus and planning to beat him up. Lucy internally cringed.

'Are you okay? What happened, Lu-chan, tell us.' Levy said softly, her hand rested comfortingly on Lucy's thighs.

Lucy contemplated for a while. Should she tell them the whole story with Aquarius or should she just conceal that part and just told them the fighting bit? She was in a huge dilemma and she got to decide, fast. Lucy was scared of what would her friends think about her after this, but still they're her friends, maybe it wouldn't be too bad. She needed to make up with Laxus and the only way for her friends to understand their fight was to tell them everything. Her priorities were clear as day.

Her heartbeat picked up a pace when she finally decided what to do.

Lucy closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself before telling her friends everything. From the fight in Alegria, how she was the only that didn't get stuck into the deep slumber and how she was cornered by two demons and the soldiers. Lucy paid attention to her friends expression, it started out as surprised, then turned to terror when she told them about the demons. Levy cringed at the mention that she had to fight them in the midst of the flood, Cana stayed silent, but listened attentively and Erza tensed. Lucy could feel Erza clenched and unclenched her hand everytime Lucy told them about the demons.

'Um… and then…' Lucy paused.

'Aquarius.' She whispered, her friends looked at her confusedly and she told them, the one thing she had managed to keep for so long. The burden that had killing her all this time.

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief after she finished the Aquarius story. One down, one to go. She stared at each of her friends faces, looking at their expressions. They were shocked, but above all they all looked sad. Especially Cana.

'H-hey… about that time in the hot spring, I-I didn't know. I'm sorry Lucy.' She stuttered out.

'Noo, Cana. It's okay, you didn't know.' Lucy assured, squeezing Cana's shoulder.

Then, Lucy heard a sniffle. She whipped her head so fast towards the sound. It was Erza, she was rubbing her eyes weakly as tears continued to stream down her face. Seeing her usually fierce friend crying made Lucy panicked.

Lucy turned around and looked up, grabbing Erza's knees.

'Why—what, why are you crying, Erza?'

Erza sniffed, 'I feel really bad. I'm sorry, Lucy. I should've noticed you were having a hard time…' she hiccupped, 'I'm such a bad friend,' she cried.

Seeing Erza's nose becoming the same color as her hair made Lucy smile. She got up to her knees and hug Erza.

'Aaww, it's fine. It was my fault for not telling you guys. I'm really sorry for keeping it to myself.' Lucy murmured, burying her face on Erza's hair.

Not long after that, another sniffles could be heard and it turned out Levy and Cana were crying too. It made Lucy chuckled, she released her grasp from Erza and extended her arms, inviting the other two to the hug.

'Aww come here,' Levy and Cana instantly run up to them and the four of them hugged while sniffling and crying 'poor Lucy', 'I'm sorry I wasn't there.'

Lucy patted them all on the backs, feeling so light as if the burden she had been carrying has vanished. She smiled to herself, relieved. Lucy was glad she decided to tell them the truth.

'Guys, but I'm not done. This is about Laxus, remember?' She reminded them.

Cana looked up, 'But… what about Aquarius? How are you going to find her? I'll help! We'll help you no matter what it takes, just say the word.' Levy and Erza nodded, agreeing to what Cana said.

Lucy smiled, 'Thank you, guys, really. My fight with Laxus actually had something to do with that.' She mused, remembering her idiocy.

They broke up from the hugs, now sitting close to each other.

'Okay, go on.' Levy encouraged.

'So… Laxus knows about Aquarius—I kinda emotionally poured everything out one night. This morning, when we were taking a walk, Laxus said something to me. He said that he has been searching for leads on the key's whereabouts from other guilds and he came across an interesting news,' Lucy sucked in a sharp breath.

'He said that, there was an S-class mission in other guild that nobody could manage to complete it because there was an unknown disturbance preventing them from doing the mission. One of the survivors said that there was a monster or a being on the path of the mission location. The person said that the monster was protecting something, or rather it didn't want anyone to get close to the thing it was protecting. That person saw the thing. It was a gold key. Granted, they could've been wrong, but Laxus assured me that he was going to take the chance with me. And that's where I fucked up.' She bit her lip.

'The truth is, ever since we got together, I've been thinking a lot about the journey to find her key. I was happy and I thought that was enough. And I… I kind of decided to stop looking for her key,' her friends gasped.

'So, when I heard there was another hope, I got mad. I was so ashamed of myself for even thinking that I would give up on the search. She was my friend. My family. So … I kinda blew up on Laxus' face. I got angry at myself but I took it out on him and…' Lucy cringed for the next part.

'And without thinking, I said something I shouldn't have. I told him to stop seeing me and to end the relationship.'

Her friends were silence for a moment, taking it all in while Lucy sat there with her head hung low.

After a while, Cana whistled, 'Damn, Luce. I gotta say, you really fucked up there, babe.' She said, looking at her sympathetically.

'I got to agree with Cana on this one, too Lucy.' Levy hummed in agreement.

Lucy threw her head back miserably, 'I know! I don't know what to do,' she whined.

'Hmm.' Erza paused, she seemed to be thinking about something. 'It doesn't matter. The damage is done. What matters now is how to get you two make up…' she muttered, in deep thought.

'Maybe… show up on his door naked? A little make up sex, huh?' she wiggled her eyebrow, but only got a smack on the head by Levy.

'No, stupid. She needs to be more sincere, more genuine. I think you should lay it all out, Lu. Like, really apologize, maybe kneel or something.' Levy suggested.

That was the last straw as Lucy couldn't hold her laugh anymore. She snorted and giggled, making her friends stared at her as if she had grown three heads.

'I'm sorry, it's just, your suggestions are what I had thought about myself,' she chuckled. 'Sorry, guys. I think that's no good... it just, missing something you know?'

Suddenly, Erza clapped her hands. 'Ah! I got it!' she exclaimed, her eyes were brightening up.

'For starters, I agree with Levy of how you should make it sincere and genuine, so seducing him is an absolute no-no. But kneeling is, I feel, a little bit too excessive. Honestly, Luce, I don't think you need some special way to make up with him. I mean, if it was me, I'd probably forgiven you in a flash if you just come clean about your mistakes and ask me forgiveness. Luce, I've seen the way he looks at you, that guy is so whipped. Anybody could tell he has fallen hard for you,' Lucy blushed.

'That's why, I think you should just go to him, admit your mistakes, apologize, and tell him what was on your mind. I may not be an expert on relationship, but I know that communication is very important. Tell him what made you lashed out on him, tell him how you feel and why you feel that way. That way, you both could work this out together. It takes two to tango, after all. So, just apologize to him normally Luce, I'm sure he will forgive you. If he doesn't then, my fist will do the talking.' Erza smiled darkly, making Lucy sweat nervously.

Nevertheless, what Erza said made a lot of sense for her. She didn't need a big, fancy apology, as long as she's sincere, Laxus would've appreciate it, right? If Erza was right then Lucy didn't want to waste anymore time, she wanted to run off and go to him now. He will forgive her because he… loves her. Just thinking about that made Lucy's inside all bubbly. She did not want to go there yet, besides, if it was true, Lucy wanted to hear it from himself in person.

I love him. I love him. I want to go to him now.

Her head was screaming at her to go now.

Seeing Lucy all fidgeting in her seat, the three of her friends all looked at each other knowingly and smiled.

'Go, Luce.' Levy encouraged, squeezing Lucy's shoulder.

Cana grinned at her, 'Go get him, girl,' she cheered and smacked Lucy's butt.

'You can do this, Luce.' Assured Erza.

Lucy smiled appreciatively to her friends, feeling tears pricked on the corner of her eyes. she looked at them gratefully.

'Thank you, guys, really. I owe you.' With that, she rushed out of Levy's room and out of the dormitory. Glancing at the clock inside the dormitory, she figured that Laxus was probably at the guild, in his office. So, she rushed towards the guild. Lucy closed her eyes and drew a shaky breath. She really hoped everything will be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> personally, i really like this chapter, because: a. Lucy finally told her friends, yay!! and b. the girl talk. i find this as a beginning of Lucy's recovery in which she started to open up towards her friends again and confide in them. although, originally, i wanted Lucy to find the courage to start "healing" herself by herself, but i ended up writing it like this. eh. it IS a romance fanfic. so, i think it's okay to use Laxus as a catalyst for her to start realizing things and be back to reality, whether it was to give up or to keep searching. soo... yeah.


	12. The Abandonment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh i'm not proud of this chapter, sigh...

Laxus buried himself in mountains of paperwork, trying to distract his mind from Lucy's outburst earlier. Outburst… he scoffed, she literally just broke it off with him and stormed off. Laxus sighed dejectedly, removing his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes, then massaged his temple. Was that a blunder? Was she said that just because of the situation? Did she really mean that? Millions of thoughts ran through his mind and none of them were even as close as comforting.

Laxus sighed again, putting his glasses back on. He didn't even have half the energy to throw a tantrum, he was just so… bummed out. What Lucy said—no, what Lucy stated, might as well be knocking air out of his lungs. Words just failed him at that time, though his heart kept the same rhythmic, it was strangely quiet and beat normally, but he could feel something was wrong: something odd and heavy. He didn't know how to describe the feeling, it was like his stomach was churning in a nasty way and he felt like throwing up.

He was a jerk for saying those things, was he? Laxus felt like regretting everything he said to her—no, not "what" he said but "how" he said it. Because for Laxus, families are the one thing that he treasures so much. So, he didn't feel like what he said was wrong. Granted, he should've been gentler with how he put it. He regretted to have pushed her like that. How could he be so thoughtless? But still, how could Lucy just up and gave it all up? It didn't sit well with him, how after all her effort, she just decided to give up. Aquarius was her family, for god sake! As much as he wanted to understand her reasons behind all that, he just couldn't make it sense. only she knew how terrible the feeling he was once felt.

With another sigh, Laxus absentmindedly flipping over the documents in his hands. Giving them stamps and occasionally signature on them. Gramps would lose it if he saw Laxus do this, but he didn't care one bit. His thoughts were too packed to even care. His foot was tapping on the wood floor anxiously, making a creaking sound on the already worn out wood floor.

Laxus couldn't shake off the icky feelings. Of course, he was so heartbroken because of what Lucy said and he refused to accept that as it was. However, there were this bitterness and frustration inside him, eating him away bits by bits. Feelings that he knew exactly where it came from. From the start, Laxus has rejected the thought every time it resurfaced, and it became a constant bother since their fight: that for Lucy, their relationship only serves as a mere distraction.

Yes, it was a bit harsh for him to think about that and it wasn't like he didn't trust her or haven't a complete faith in her. In any case, it was just a fleeting thought. Just a sense of doubt that was becoming stronger after their fight. He really didn't want to believe it as he still has complete faith in Lucy. But Laxus couldn't help but feel scared. What else could explain their fast development? True, there was a thing such as love at first sight that perhaps could make things progressed fast. However, theirs weren't that of love at first sight. Heck, he could still remember how distant Lucy was at that time. Well, not that he objected or anything. Laxus was more than happy with their fast development. Ever since Lucy showed her vulnerability and confided in him, pouring out all of her troubles, Laxus have had the urges to protect her no matter what.

He saw her as this little whimpering puppy who needed love and affection—maybe calling her a puppy was pushing it, but that's not the point. More than that, he saw loneliness—no, he felt the loneliness inside her, devouring her light and her warmth little by little. He saw the eyes of someone who was desperate and close to give it all away. No longer did he see the shine that once shone in her eyes that full of determination. Blank, lifeless stare was all he could see that he felt a tug in his heart. Since then, she was all he could think about. He just wanted to be beside her, he wanted to bring her smile back and most importantly, the shine in her eyes. It wasn't a matter of whether he like her or that she made him interested. It's just that he really wanted to be by her side. Although, falling for her was inevitable. How could he not, when she suddenly let her guard down the morning after she told him the truth. And that smile, oh that fleeting yet genuine smile that she showed him. Albeit, it was because of his clumsiness, if it was going to make her smile at him, then he'll be clumsy any day and any time. Though he came up with it on the spot, he was glad that he asked her for a date.

A knock on his desk pulled Laxus from his string of thoughts. He looked up inquisitively to the person in front of him. His frowns vanished, it was Ever. Ever was staring at him with worries etched on her face. She looked like she wanted to say something but paused and bit the inside of her mouth instead. Laxus rested his chin on his palm, his elbow perched on the desk, supporting the weight. He raised an eyebrow, implying a question.

Ever waved the documents on her hand, 'Mira asked me to give you this. Here.' She said placing the documents on the desk.

'Thanks,' He said, but he still gave her a pointed look.

It was clear that Ever was hesitating. Her face looked like they were wrestling on whether to ask Laxus or not. He could tell which side won when Ever groaned to herself and exhaled loudly.

'Do I have to ask, or do you want to just tell me what's bothering you?' she crossed her arms on her chest, her tone was curt, but she had a look of worry on her face.

Laxus shrugged, 'Man, I love seeing you look troubled though.' He joked which earned smack to his biceps.

'Fine, fine.' Laxus sighed and began to tell her what's going on, starting with his fight with Lucy. It was awkward at first, because despite thinking about it a lot, Laxus has never be frank with anyone about his feelings. Especially romantic feelings.

Laxus wasn't one to confide in others when he had problems, he usually just zapped that problems away. So, telling Ever all of his worries were a bit embarrassing yet liberating, much to his surprise.

Ever's attention didn't waver one bit while he told her everything. She listened to him attentively, even when he got embarrassed on a certain point and had to cough to mask his cracking voice, Ever didn't laugh and still listened to him. He's grateful for that. Once Laxus finished his story, especially the one about him afraid of becoming just a distraction for Lucy, Ever went quiet. She seemed to be pondering the right words and answers to reply.

'Um…' she started, rapping her fingers on his desk repeatedly, 'Let me ask you one thing, if, by chance, Lucy did or still sees you as a distraction, what would you do?'

Laxus was taken aback by the question, he frowned, 'Well, of course I'd be sad… and disappointed,'

Ever rolled her eyes, 'Not how you feel, Laxus. I'm asking what would you do, like, would you break up with her… or—' she was cut short by Laxus' grunting.

'God, no. Of course not! I can't break up with her, I won't.' he asserted firmly, his knuckles were turning white from frustration. Break up? That word never even came up once in his thought. And it wouldn't. Ever. Breaking up is the last thing he would ever do.

'Then, what would you do?' she tried again.

Laxus groaned, 'I don't know,' he whined and Ever looked at him disapprovingly.

'Maybe… if she really just sees me as a distraction, then I'll make her love me for real. I'll try again and again until she fell as hard as I fell for her.' He said firmly.

'Then, there's no problem, no?' Ever tilted her head. Laxus has an inkling that she already figured everything out for him, but was holding back, purposely letting him be the one to figure things out. He hated it.

Laxus narrowed his eyes, but before he could speak, Ever beat him into it.

'Laxus, everybody has problems they had to deal with. Some could manage it just fine, like you who most of the time just zapped it or punched it away. But to some, those problems became the center of their lives instead. The reason varies from the lack of power to fight it to not having someone beside them. Let's view it from Lucy's point of view. Knowing her, she didn't have anyone by her side, or rather she chose not to have anyone by her side. Loneliness destroys people, Laxus. Even the purest person of all. So, imagine, amidst all that darkness, she suddenly found a light approaching her, nurturing her, keeping her warm. I'd say it's damn normal for her to use it as a "distraction". Wouldn't you stayed close to fire in the midst of a snowstorm—no, shut up. Before you say "I'm a dragon slayer, I'm always warm", I know, but that's not the point.' Ever barked, narrowing her eyes when she saw Laxus instantly closed his mouth.

Ever took a deep breath before continuing, 'My point is, it's a given if she saw you as a distraction at first, whether she does it consciously or not. And is it not the point that she's happy anyway because of it? What started as a distraction could easily become love. I'm pretty sure you had this all figure it out anyway, so here's the real question: what's really bothering you, Laxus?'

Damn it, Ever.

'I…' he glanced at Ever who was looking at him expectantly and encouragingly, as if she's been waiting for the words to come out of his mouth.

'I just—you're right, it's not about the distraction. I'm more scared that when it's established that I'm not a distraction, but her feelings for me aren't genuine. Fuck, I'm the worst. Can't believe I have that little faith on her.' He admitted dejectedly.

Laxus ran his hand across his hair, messing it. 'What if it's true, Ever?' He whispered. He didn't even want to think about that possibility. It scared him so much.

Ever didn't say anything at first. She just smiled. She put her hand on his shoulder, patted it, 'Now that's not something you should ask me, should you?'

Laxus inhaled sharply and with that, Ever walked out of his office, leaving him deep in thought once again.

Laxus was quiet for a while, taking it all in. Then, he glanced at his drawer. He reached out his hand towards the handle of the left drawer and pulled it gently. Swiping and checking every paper he came across carefully, Laxus mind hasn't registered to what was he looking for. However his hands stopped moving, he sucked in a breath.

Laxus hand was hovering over a rugged parchment. The parchment was worn and almost torn with several rips along the edges. It was officially registered under the name of a foreign guild, but Laxus had worked—bribing and a little bit of threatening—hard on getting the rights to the mission. He once again skimmed the yellowing parchment, pondering over the location written there. Well, he was familiar with the location. It wasn't very far, just a couple of train stations from Magnolia.

Another problem he had to deal with. He wondered as to what should he do with it. Seeing Lucy's reaction, he wasn't sure whether she would do it ever at all. Maybe it was too painful for her. Maybe he was a dick for pushing her to this. Then one thing is certain. He would be the one going there.

XXX

Lucy ran with all her might to the guild, panting heavily. She was balancing between her running pace and holding her weight backwards as the road from the dormitory was quite a steep slope and she didn't want to mess a step and rolled over to the guild.

Halfway through and her clothes were rather damp by the sweat. It trickled down her temple and her neck, but she didn't bother to wipe it. Her mind was entirely elsewhere.

When she got to the guild entrance, Lucy stopped. Hands perched on her knees, panting. She gestured at the door, ready to open it, but the door opened from the other side. A flash of pink hair passed through her vision and she whipped her head towards the person.

'Natsu,' Lucy called out, the guy in question turned his head towards the sound, he glanced downward.

Natsu raised an eyebrow, surprised. 'Luce? What happened? Why are you sweating so much?'

Still panting, Lucy just waved her hand, dismissing his question as she was too out of breath to explain everything.

'Is Laxus there?' she asked.

Natsu pursed his lips, upset that he didn't get his answer, but shook his head.

'You missed him just now, he left.'

Lucy tilted her head, confused. 'Huh?'

'Huh? He didn't tell you?' Natsu scrunched his eyebrows. 'Didn't know much but I heard he's goin' out of town for a while.' He finished, but soon regretted answering that when he saw the look on Lucy's face.

'What are you talking about, Natsu? Out of town? Why?' Lucy managed to croak out.

It hasn't even been a day and he already gone? Lucy just couldn't believe it.

Natsu hesitated, but he answered anyway, 'Um… I don't know, Luce. I just heard about it. Try asking Mira. He was talking to her earlier.' He cringed to himself for throwing the responsibility to Mira. He was about to apologize but then he realized Lucy was already gone. Natsu only bit his lips anxiously and prayed that Lucy's okay.

Meanwhile, Lucy was already heading towards the bar, where Mira was. When she got there, Lucy leaned towards the counter.

'Mira?' She called out.

Soon after Lucy called Mira, Mira's head popped out from the door to the kitchen.

'You called?' she raised an eyebrow.

Lucy bit her lips nervously before asking, 'Uh, Natsu said Laxus went out of town? Do you know anything about that?' her tone was desperate. Lucy's mind was blank, for some reason she couldn't think of anything. Not even the fact that Laxus was gone all of the sudden. It failed to register in her mind.

Mira walked over, now directly in front of Lucy. The she-devil was confused at first, but her expression soon turned into worry. Despite the desperation in her voice, Lucy's face was blank. There weren't any urges to cry or be angry. Lucy just wanted to ask why. Why did he leave? Was it a mission? But she saw Bicks and Freed lounging from her peripheral vision. Most importantly, why didn't he tell her?

Was it because she broke up with him? Because she told him not to see her? Was he seriously giving up on her?

Just then, something clicked inside of Lucy.

Oh… is this how it feels when someone gave up on you?

A single tear escaped without warning, surprising the she-devil in front of her. Mira gasped and swiftly jumped over the counter, frantically asking Lucy whether she's okay.

Lucy blinked, her hand reached out to her cheek. It was wet. Why was it wet? Did she cry? Lucy automatically rubbed away the tears, meanwhile, Mira was still panicking, juggling between asking if she's okay, trying to give her water, and occasionally making funny faces.

'I'm okay, a dust got in to my eye, I didn't realize. Relax, Mira.' Lucy assured, putting her hand on the she-devil's shoulder.

Mira looked relieved somehow, but her expression was still that of worry. However, before Mira could ask, Lucy changed the subject.

'Um, so, where did he go? Why?' Lucy prodded again.

'Oh,' Mira hesitated, but decided to answer anyway. 'I remember he said he was going to Clover Town for a couple of days, I don't really know the details, I'm sorry Lucy. But he did mention he have business with some townspeople there. I don't know why, but he just told me to write his absence as on the mission. It was like he didn't want to be found or somethi—' Mira saw the look on Lucy's face and stopped her sentences.

Lucy looked heartbroken.

'I'm sorry, Lucy. I didn't realize… is everything okay with him?' Mira asked carefully.

Holding back her tears, Lucy quickly masked her expression.

'It's fine! Just a little fight. Ha ha.' Lucy laughed humorlessly. She felt like crying. She really, really wanted to cry. Everything felt bitter. She didn't understand. Why?

'Mira. Could you write my absence, too?' Lucy steeled her determination, despite a part of her just wanted to go back to her apartment and locked herself in.

But, she was too confused. Too sad. Too angry. Nothing made sense. They literally just fought and, what, he took off? Just like that? Lucy knew she was partly at fault, heck, most of it was her fault. However, what made her so bitter was the fact that Laxus just took off like that. How little faith he put in her, he didn't even wait a day.

'Lucy?' Mira called out, making Lucy focused her attention to the woman in front of her. 'You were spacing out, you sure you're okay? Do I need to drag him back and beat the crap out of him?' Mira asked concernly, although Lucy could faintly hear her tone laced with malice.

'Relax, I'll be okay. Now, could you write my absence?'

Mira sighed dejectedly, disappointed that she didn't get to beat the shit out of the blonde dragon slayer. She nodded.

'Yeah, but may I ask where you're going?' she asked again.

'I'm going after him,'

She paused and with a complacent smile she stated, 'And I'm going to beat the shit out of him.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter will be later than usual, I've been tinkering with it for a week now but idkkk I'm just so confused it's like idk what to write.. 
> 
> anyway, thank u in advance for waiting


	13. The Fight (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ngl, it was sooooo hard writing this chapter. i could almost feel my brain overworking its gears trying to write the action part. dang. hope y'all enjoy!

Lucy tapped her foot on the hard concrete, watching as train comes and goes. Her scheduled train was supposed to come 10 minutes ago, but judging from her impatient behaviour, it was clear that the train had failed to come on time. She gritted her teeth begrudgingly and dropped her duffel bag to the ground, making a loud thud sound. As the trip, or rather, the mission that she was going to was decided on a whim, Lucy packed everything she could think of and stuff it all in her duffel bag. She didn't even know how many days she was going to stay and she regretted not thinking about asking Virgo for help.

One thing was set in stone: her annoyance towards Laxus. She was channeling all of her annoyance, frustrations, and anger towards the blonde dragon slayer. One fight and he stormed off? Just like that? She won't accept it. Never.

Lucy clicked her tongue as her scheduled train finally pulled up on her platform. Slightly stomping, she got into the train and looked for her seat. It was in the rightside, right on the middle. After setting her duffel bag in the compartment, Lucy plopped down to the red leather seat. With a sigh, she leaned towards the window and stare at the deserted platform. Not that she cared, but it seemed that she was the only one in her compartment. The rush hour had gone a long time ago, leaving very little passengers on board.

To be frank, Lucy was glad that there was no one in her compartment. The platform and train bustling with people was the last thing she wanted. Rather than distracting her, it would make her headache doubled instead. She felt like cussing out a string of curse words as the pain in her head kept bugging her like somebody was hitting a gong repeatedly. It was truly, torture. And she got no one else to blame but the blonde dragon slayer. Gone was her extreme guilt and desire to apologize. She just wanted to give him a piece of her mind. Physically.

She couldn't make sense any of it. Did Laxus really taken her words seriously? About the thing where she ended their relationship? Lucy just couldn't believe it. It didn't seem like Laxus at all. First of all, he's stubborn as a rock. Lucy has had the taste of his stubbornness many times before, she remembered how he refused to leave her apartment until she said yes to the date. Lucy bit her lips nervously. Remembering Laxus' stubbornness didn't calm her down at all.

The reason for that was there was a gnawing feeling inside her that made her reasonings not comforting at all. Despite their chemistry, and how happy she felt when she was with him, and vice versa, Lucy also couldn't shake off the worries and anxieties. They fit well as a couple, true, but they lack depth. And trust. As long as Lucy could remember, ever since they got together, not once had they sit down and have a talk. Talk, as in, talking about their personal things: like how Aquarius to Lucy, or how Laxus was doing, what did he go through after the battle of Fairy Tail incident. Heck, they haven't even talked about their own feelings and where would they take this relationship, how far would this go.

Because of it, Lucy strongly felt dejected. The reason was that she felt their bond wasn't strong enough, and she was scared. Scared that the weak ties were on the verge of severing because of her one mistake. She couldn't help but feel upset. At herself. At Laxus, too. For not ran after her, for leaving without notice. One might call her selfish, but she really wished he had gone after her after she stormed off. She wished he hadn't gave up on her.

The sound of slow tapping beside her woke Lucy up from her thoughts. Lucy glanced at the window and leaned her forehead gently against the blurred window. Light showers sprinkled on the train and the window, leaving drops of water on the windowpane. The soft, calming trickles gradually became louder, more demanding as the rain got heavier, drumming on the roof of the train.

Lucy observed the sky that had been post-card perfect changed as the train speeds through the scenery. Clouds were thickening as they were huddled together, tinting the sky grey and gloomy as if mimicking her mood. Lightning flashed so suddenly and Lucy flinched, squirming automatically in her seat as the thundering sound filled her ears. The flashing light came by again, but she no longer flinched over the suddenness. Lucy leaned her head back to the seat and closed her eyes. Another lightning flashed through, even with her closed eyes, she could feel the light illuminating her face. A sense of nostalgia washed over her. It reminded her of Laxus. She remembered how he teleported them on their first date to that wonderful café where they ate under the starry night.

A stinging pain erupted in her chest. She missed him already. Leaning closer to the window, Lucy listened intently to the sound of the rain beating violently against the window and on the roof. The irregular thump of the rain sounded like music to her ears as her breath gradually became steadier and she slowly dozed off into the dreamland.

Lucy almost missed her stop. She was sleeping so soundly that she didn't heard the announcement of her station. It took a lot of loud honk and an angry conductor to wake her up. Perhaps she really was the only passenger on the train, the conductor looked pissed as if cussing her with his eyes for prolonging his worktime. She gave him a guilty smile which he scoffed in replied. Lucy stood up groggily and reached out for her duffel bag. Still sluggish from the sudden loud yell courtesy of the conductor, Lucy stumbled out of the train. Once again giving a guilty smile, she bowed to the annoyed looking conductor and went on her way.

As she stepped out of the station, a gush of chilly wind breeze through, ruflling her hair and making the hairs on her neck stood. She rubbed her shoulder with the free hand that wasn't holding the duffel bag and hugged herself. The rain had long stopped, leaving behind chilly breeze and wet pavement. Lucy looked around before setting her duffel bag down and squatting to open the bag. She rummaged through her things and got out a warm looking jacket. It wasn't thick, but it was enough to warm her up. As she slipped her arm in, the soft cotton stroked her hand gently. After she zipped the jacket up, she reached for the duffel bag again and headed out towards the town.

Lucy kept glancing down the road and to the front as to carefully not stepping the puddles. Even though the rain was short, it was heavy enough to leave several puddles on the pavement. As she was entering the neighborhood, Lucy passed by the familiar houses. The visit to the town was brief, but Lucy could faintly remember the pathway that leads to the forest which stood the Guild Meeting Building. Lucy decided to stop by the local inn to check in and drop her stuff before asking townspeople of his whereabouts. Surely, someone would see a big and burly 6'2" man that travels around with lightning, right?

After paying a fairly cheap fare, Lucy set her stuff on the small, wooden table by the window of the medium sized room. The room was okay. It wasn't dirty, but it wasn't too clean either. The room only has a single bed with wooden table and a single chair. Everything looked worn, but it wasn't unkempt. A framed painting of flowers hung neatly over the headboard. Lucy settled down and laid on the bed for a while. She stared at the ceiling absentmindedly as the sound of the old clock on the wall filled the silence.

Tick

Tick

Tick

Lucy stood up abruptly. There was no time to waste. She shouldn't laze around, she has to find him and talk to him immediately.

As Lucy ascended the stairs hurriedly, she thought about stopping by the receptionist to try her luck by asking about Laxus. When she got in front of the long, wooden table, Lucy rested both of her palms on it, leaning forward towards the other person on the other side of the table. It was a middle-aged woman. She had a blonde hair that was much lighter than Lucy and wearing a green dress that supposedly similar to the color of the inn's logo. The woman receptionist looked up from the documents she was reading to look at Lucy, she smiled politely and removed the glasses she was wearing and perched it up on her head. Lucy could faintly see the creasings beneath her eyes as she slightly squinted.

'Can I help you?' the receptionist asked hospitably, still wearing the polite smile from earlier.

'Um, yes. I was wondering if you had seen a blonde guy? He has a huge build and is very tall…um' Lucy bit her lip, trying to think of how to describe Laxus comprehensively. So much for being a writer, Lucy sucked at finding words on the spot.

She tapped her right hand on the table suddenly, 'Oh! He has a lightning shaped scar across his eyes. Perhaps you've seen him about two or three hours ago?'

The receptionist scrunched her eyebrows and placed her hand on her chin, her face was concentrating to remember the faces that had gone in and out of the inn. Suddenly, the receptionist snapped her fingers. Her eyes were bright when she looked at Lucy, she smiled and nodded.

'Yes, if I'm not mistaken there was… let's see,' the receptionist—whose name was Marie, Lucy just noticed the iron tag pinned on the upper left side of Marie's chest. Marie plucked the glasses perched on her head and wore it as she grabbed the documents from earlier and swiped through the name of the inn's occupants.

Her slender index fingers stopped on the middle part of the list, 'Under the name Laxus Dreyar?' She inquired, staring at Lucy through her rimless glasses.

Lucy nodded but at the same time smacked herself internally for her foolishness. Of course! She could've just ask for his name instead.

'Um, could you tell me his room, perhaps?' Lucy tried asking even though the chances she would tell Lucy were close to none. And Lucy was right as Marie the receptionist gave an apologetic smile after her question.

'Sorry, we have a really strict privacy policy…' Marie trailed, and Lucy bit her lip anxiously. At least she tried.

Lucy nodded again, although not surprised but still a little bit disappointed.

'It's fine. But could you tell where he'd gone? And when? Please? I really need to find him,' Lucy's eyes were glimmering with hope as she stared Marie the receptionist in the eye.

Marie the receptionist looked at her for a long time and sighed. She nodded kindly and removed her glasses to place it back again on her head. She rubbed her tired eyes and looked at Lucy again.

'I can't tell you much, but about an hour ago he came up to me and asked for a man called Horace. Said it was about a mission or something, I don't really know, I didn't ask the details.' She explained.

'Ah, Horace is the mayor,' Marie pointed out after she saw the confusion on Lucy's face.

'Just walk north from here and eventually you'll see a big house at the end of the road. It's easy to spot, don't worry.' She continued, already sitting back to her seat and fiddling with the documents.

Lucy muttered words of gratitude and bolted out of the inn in seconds. Although she acted quickly on getting out of the inn, Lucy took her time walking. The town was quiet, there weren't many people to begin with. Maybe it was because of the rain, the only one outside was a couple of middle-aged ladies wringing their drenched laundry and storekeepers cleaning the stand and the products that toppled over because of the wind. As she walked further away from the inn, children's playful screams and laughter filled her ears. They were playing about on the puddles, kicking and jumping on it so that it splashed everywhere. A little splash got to her ankle, but Lucy paid no mind. Her mind was elsewhere and nowhere.

What was he doing? A mission? Was he that desperate to go that he took a random mission? Was it an urgent matter? What if it did, and he didn't tell her because it was, well, urgent? But then again, he was alone and not with his team, so, probably not. Chilly breeze passed through, blowing her hair everywhere as Lucy walked in zig zag trying to avoid the puddles. It was shallower and smaller compared to the one in the train station. The dark clouds had dispersed, but the air still damp with the occasional chilly breeze. Lucy's attention was focused on avoiding puddles.

Puddles…

Rain…

Water…

She gasped and stopped in her tracks suddenly. Lucy just thought about something highly possible, about why Laxus left. Gritting her teeth, Lucy could only hope her guess was wrong before took off on a full speed to the mayor's house.

XXXX

Laxus was walking out of the mayor's house when dark clouds began to gather together over him, the sky darkened into a gravel-grey shade in the process. And then came the raging wind, howling through the town, his cloak fluttering violently in every direction. He kept walking in the direction of the forest, not minding the rain that was threatening to fall. 10 minutes in, but the rain didn't come. Although the sky was still murky, hiding the sun and its shine.

Picking up his pace as to not wanting to get drenched if it suddenly really rained, the sound of leaf rustling becoming harsher and noisier as the sole of his feet kept connecting to fallen twigs, snapping them in half. Laxus scratched his chin anxiously and the rough stubbles scratched his fingertips back. Horace said it was just a simple job in the beginning. To transport some goods to another town in the other side of the forest, but as the first mage was taking a break in a nearby cave, they got ambushed instead, and the goods were stuck deep in the cave ever since. Horace was desperate for the goods as the man was literally begging Laxus to retrieve it. Poor guy. It was probably a huge sum of money, or diamonds, Laxus didn't really care. He had different goals anyway, the problem is the monster.

Nobody knows what kind of monster living in that cave. It could even be a human. The only testimony from the survivors was only to 'always watch your back because it will attack you where you least expected'. Even with his capabilities, Laxus was still cautious. Not knowing what you'll face is truly a disadvantage, but Laxus has no doubt that he would beat it.

He passed by the Guild Meeting Building. There wasn't any trace left of the chaotic battle of lullaby years ago as the big, old building still stood tall, though cracks and moss could be seen everywhere. He wasn't there when the big battle emerged, it was that one time he didn't accompany gramps to the meeting, and he missed all the fun and Lucy kicked ass. Suddenly, Laxus felt a chill on his neck. He sneezed and got taken aback. What was that? He felt chilly all of a sudden, it was like someone was cursing him or something.

Laxus passed through the narrow wooden bridge when his cheek suddenly felt wet. When he looked up, he was ambushed by the rain.

'Motherfuc—' he wiped his face furiously as the rain got harder and some dropped in his eyes—well, more like pierced his eyes you'd think the rain has grudges on him.

Quickening his pace again, Laxus could see from the distance the entrance of the cave in the far east. Seeing as his destination was right upon his eyes, Laxus couldn't care less about taking cover as the clouds decided to spat more of its beads of water, making it heavier each second passed. The heavy rain blurred his vision, resulting the constant wipe on his face, albeit frustratingly, Laxus didn't stop. He was close, he could feel it.

And finally, after ten minutes that heavily seemed like thirty, Laxus was free of the raging rain as he got to the entrance and took cover inside. The cave was damp and stifling hot, maybe because the cave had no airway beside the entrance, Laxus felt so stuffed in there. Not to mention, it strongly reeked blood. The deeper Laxus went, the stronger the smell was, it almost made him gag. A faint, yellow light flickered in the dark and he could see the path that led towards a large clearing. As he got deeper into the cave, the furious sound of the rain weakened until just a soft drumming was heard. The inside of the cave itself looked void of any living being. It was dark with only a dim fire on the corner of each path and eerie. In the wide clearing, there was a medium sized pond right in the corner of the dome shaped cave—maybe it was a pond, or even a lake, Laxus couldn't see clearly. And right beside the pond was a cart. He couldn't see what's inside as all of it looked the same inside the sacs, but it must've been the goods that Horace talked about. But that's second priority. His main goal was to find the key, but so far, he didn't see shiny key anywhere. It also didn't help how empty the place looked.

The place was barren, the ground was stone, the wall was also lined with stone irregularly. Despite the strong smell of the blood, he couldn't see corpses anywhere. Everything inside just screamed suspicious and weird.

Suddenly, Laxus ears perked up. He automatically tensed his shoulder, changing into a cautious stance—a more cautious stance as he doubled his sensitivity, because for the record, Laxus is always cautious. He heard a splash, but the water in the pond was as still as a statue. Not even small ripples seen.

With his heightened senses, he could barely feel a presence. However, Laxus had trouble pinpointing its location for the sound was resonating across the whole cave. He turned around towards the path where he came in and a shadow moved past in the corner of his eye. He whipped his head quickly towards the shadow, but nothing was there. Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck stood and he unclenched his fist, palm facing backward and sent a bolt of lightning. Soon, smoke emerged and Laxus turned back around. Although the view was slightly blocked, he could visibly see what seemed to be a large squid-like creature, with its tentacle slithering around it. It had one large eye right on the center of its triangle shaped head. The giant squid let out a loud croaking sound, but oddly, Laxus didn't see its mouth anywhere but the sound was coming from everywhere.

Laxus was taken aback, 'It could survive outside the water…?' he muttered while distancing himself from the whipping tentacles. He couldn't make out how many tentacles it has, perhaps this what made other mage met their demise. The tentacles were long and slippery as it whipped around, trying to attack Laxus, some of its clear liquid from the ends of its tentacles spluttered everywhere.

'Gross,' Laxus gritted his teeth while wiping the excess liquid off his clothes. He sent another bolt of lightning toward the head of the giant squid. Its body was slick with liquid and water. Instead of getting electrocuted, as soon as the lightning made contact to its body, the water on its body turned into vapor, leaving the giant squid unharmed still.

Keeping a good distance from it, he tried striking it again, each bolt more powerful than the previous, but everything proved to be useless. The giant squid was still standing unfazed. Laxus began to sweat, he cracked his knuckles nervously. Then, he raised both of his hands in the air at his side, palm facing upwards enveloping them with lightning. He roared and the lightning became brighter and larger, each turned into a massive spear form. With a grunt, the lightning spear shoot across the cave and onto the head, producing a loud boom and a blinding light. The squelching sound of tentacles stopped as smoke once again filled the cave. Burnt smell wafted across the cave.

He let out a sigh, that took a lot of magical power. Beads of sweat started to trickle more down his temple and nape. He still had much magic reserves, but something felt odd somehow. His stomach kept churning and his instincts were screaming as if he had missed an important bit. The smoke gradually cleared, and a figure was seen amidst the smoke, the giant squid was still, its tentacles limp on the ground. Laxus was about to approach it a screech stopped him. The tentacles flinched and began to move around, its head was still limp, but he could see that the giant squid didn't take any damage.

The skin was still slick and spotless. It let out another screech, tentacles whipping furiously, elongating them towards Laxus. A single tentacle almost got to him, slashing passed his eye in an inch. Even though he dodged in a flash, Laxus could see the tentacle clearly. His heart almost fell out of his chest. That was so close. At the ends of the tentacle was teeth. Small, sharp teeth. The tentacle was like a small, gaping mouth. The clear liquid from before, Laxus assumed was the drool. It was gross and Laxus couldn't help but wonder how strange it was for the mouth located on the tentacle. Just then, another tentacle slashed in front of his face. There was another mouth on it, baring its sharp teeth, ready to bite.

By now Laxus was puzzled. Nothing made sense, everything was as clear as mud. A squid outside water, not to mention giant squid. And why was it fine everytime he struck it with his lightning?

If long range didn't work, maybe a good knockout punch would. Laxus figured he would strike the giant squid right on its head while it still dormant. He glanced towards his left, then right. There were ten. The tentacles were ten in total. Five on the left and five on the right, all were trying to trap him in the middle.

'Fine. If you want to play it that way, then—' lightning burst from where he stood, it was yellow and blinding. Soon, the lightning engulfed his body. The sparks were becoming larger as Laxus transformed his body into course of electricity, producing a rapid chirping sound. His breath got heavy as he felt the magical power got sucked off his body in a large amount.

He shot a powerful jolt of lightning and boosted himself towards the giant squid, spearing across the cave, like a fast-moving spark of lightning. He lunged straight at the head, the chirping sound got louder as he zoomed in a lightning speed, leaving trails of sparks behind each way. The tentacles whipping around furiously, some slithered around the leftover sparks, as if it were trying to eat them. The rest tried to whip the lightning bolt that was Laxus, but he paid no mind. Nothing could touch him as long as he was in that form, either it would get electrocuted or just plainly died.

As soon as the tentacles came in contact with his sparks, it screeched. Laxus wasn't paying attention, but the giant squid screeched in delight. One of it slithered onto his leg and wrapped itself around his ankle. Still, Laxus attention was already on the target, which was the eye of the giant squid, he failed to realize that the magical power surrounding him had lessened. Laxus clenched his right fist and channeled a large amount of lightning around his fist and put his strength into punching the daylight out of the giant squid.

He roared as his fist came in contact with its eye, generating a burst of blinding lightning. The giant squid screeched, and a loud thump was heard. Laxus was on the ground, looking more worn out than he should and the giant squid flailing its tentacles, screeching in delight.

Fuck.

Was the only thing on his mind as tentacles with sharp teeth slithered towards his limp body, stalking him as if he was the prey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh... what will happen to Laxus, I wonder... when's Lucy gonna come anyway? she sure took her sweet time, huh. 
> 
> anyway, next chapt will prolly be the last. stay tune! <3


	14. The Fight (II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daaaayum sorry for the long wait, guys. college started and they did not give us a break with the assignment. anyway, this chapter is a bit longer, yeah? i hope y'all enjoy!

Laxus could only move his fingers. Coughing, he once again tried desperately to move, but his effort was nought. He hated it. He hated feeling desperate. He tried calling out his lightning, but nothing came out. His magical powers were oddly depleted seeing that not a single spark light up. In general, his magical power restoration is faster than normal, but with the situation as it was, he definitely wouldn't make it. Let alone teleporting to another place, he probably wouldn't be able to produce a spark to evade the tentacle. Laxus cussed out loud and gritted his teeth as one of the tentacle stalking to him already got to his feet, slithering and wrapping around his ankle slowly, as if to mock his helplessness.

Laxus tried to wiggle out from its grip with the little strength he had left, but the grip was too strong. By the time the tentacle reached his waist, Laxus was panting hard. He kept telling himself not to panic and that a chance would show.

But when? He didn't exactly have time. He groaned in frustration. He's not one to give up, but then again, he never felt this helpless before. The tentacle was taunting him, its gaping mouth was drooling, ready to eat its meal. Meanwhile, the other tentacles began to closing in on him, too. Grunting, he charged his body with a little lightning. However, it vanished as fast as it appeared. Panic rushed over his body. He could very well hear his own heartbeat beating furiously, the tentacles were close. Some had even hovered around his face, contemplating which part to bite first.

He can't die yet. He can't. What about Lucy?

Those thoughts ran through his head over and over while he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw tightly, waiting for the attack.

Crack!

A loud whipping sound echoed through the cave suddenly.

Crack! Crack!

'Lucy Kick!' A familiar voice yelled, Laxus opened his eyes quickly, immediately searching for the owner of the sound.

His eyes widened once he landed at the petite yet tough figure landing a solid kick on the squid's eye. The attack connected and the squid screeched in pain, its tentacles that were surrounding Laxus waved around frantically. The one that wrapped around him also let go of itself and changed its target to Lucy instead. Seeing the squid writhed in pain confused him. Why did Lucy's attack work?

With much effort, Laxus managed to sit up while breathing heavily. He eyed his blonde girlfriend up and down fascinatedly. She was wearing an attire he had never seen before. Laxus stare agape at her cow pattern bra with sleeves and black leather pants that left her right leg revealed. Her gloved hands were gripping a black whip that she lashed out ever once in a while, switching between a kick and a jab. Her hair was put up in a two very adorable buns. He watched in awe as Lucy cried out something to her cow spirit and both of them lunged and punched the squid.

Laxus whistled. What an immense strength, the squid collapsed with a screech. His chest welled with pride as he stared at his badass girlfriend. The thought made him gulp. Was he still her boyfriend? Were they even still dating?

He shook his head. It wasn't like him to be distracted in the midst of a battle like this. Even if he was mostly useless and the squid was taken down, he still had to be cautious. Thankfully, he was right to be cautious. The squid got back up. Laxus noticed a couple of tentacles heading his way, baring its sharp fangs. It no longer slithered slowly like before, instead the tentacles charged at him with a full speed. Laxus knew it probably wouldn't have any effects, but he zapped the tentacles anyway. Smoke emerged, but the tentacles were still intact.

What was missing? He just couldn't figure it out. Everytime he struck it with his lightning, it was as if the tentacles absorbed his lightning instead.

Suddenly, something in Laxus clicked. Maybe that was the reason. It absorbed magical powers. He vividly remembered one of the tentacle that were wrapped around his leg when he was in his lightning form. Laxus wanted to zap himself. How could he overlook that part? He was way too hasty. Now he had to pay the price. When the tentacles closing in, he landed jabs which made them slightly confused. It was powerful, but not enough. He hadn't regained his full strength yet.

As Laxus braced himself once more, he heard Lucy yelled.

'Magical powers won't work! It's a kraken, they lived off magical powers!' She explained while whipping the tentacles surrounding her. He heard her groaned.

Laxus searched for her amidst the tentacles, 'You okay?' he called out.

He heard another groan, 'Worry about yourself! I'll kill you if you die.'

Laxus smirked and turned his attention back to the tentacles in front of him. He was still limp, but he'd make it somehow. The tentacles viciously charged at him, some trying to bite his face. Laxus countered with punches and kicks, but it didn't work that well on them as it went back up to attack him again.

A tentacle sneaked into his feet and tripped him. He fell with a thud and groaned. His head was spinning from the lack of energy, but he was still able to hold the tentacles charging at him. He didn't know for how long, though.

'Open, Gate of Cancer! Star Dress: Cancer Form!'

Swoosh!

All of the tentacles attacking Laxus suddenly dropped. The mouth part all separated from the tentacle. Laxus glanced at the place Lucy was. She wasn't there, instead there were chopped off tentacles. The amount almost felt like there's going to be a sushi party in there.

A sigh caught his attention. He turned his head towards the sound and was greeted by Lucy with an entirely different attire. Lucy was wearing what looked like a modernized blue qipao with wide, white sleeves. Her hair was clipped in a two high ponytail, which again, adorable to him. In her hands was twin blades which she just used to slice the tentacles. She stare at him with her spirit—Cancer, he presumed, beside her who was posing with pair of scissors in his hands.

Laxus let out another whistle unconsciously. 'Damn, ba—' he automatically shut his mouth as soon as he saw Lucy glaring at him.

'What were you thinking?!' She yelled. Laxus audibly gulped, Lucy looked mad as hell. He scratched his head nervously.

'Tell me. Why did you think it was a good idea coming here, huh?' Lucy prodded.

'Just… I thought I'd find your key in your stead, 'cuz…' he trailed, referring to the subject of their fight.

Lucy frowned, 'Well, no offense, but I didn't exactly ask for your help!' she snapped, glaring at him.

Laxus heart fell. He felt a sting of pain in his chest, but also, he was annoyed. He found the situation was unfair. Lucy was being unfair. Why couldn't he help? Was it so wrong to help his girlfriend?

'You know what? I am offended. What—I can't help my girlfriend? We are dating, aren't we?' Looking at her pointedly, he argued, stressing the dating part. Laxus really didn't want to bring this up, but he couldn't wait anymore. He hated not understanding her, and he wanted her to understand, too.

Lucy widened her eyes, taken aback. Her frown deepened, 'Ha? What's that supposed to mean?' She asked in a low voice.

Even though he was sweating, the air got chilly as the hairs on the back of his neck stood. Laxus had a feeling he said something wrong again, he glanced the celestial mage in front of him, she was glaring daggers. If looks could kill, he'd already be in hell, Laxus thought. But he wasn't about to back down. He had to get his feelings across.

He shrugged, 'It's exactly what I said. I'm just making sure.' Perhaps he sounded passive-aggressive, because Lucy did not like what she heard.

'And what were you making sure of?' Her tone was sharp, as sharp as the glare she pierced.

Laxus exhaled. Here goes. 'Whether I was just a distraction for you,' Laxus admitted in a quiet yet firm voice. His throat shook and he almost cracked his voice. Actually, Laxus was beyond scared by his own question. He was scared by her answer, to be exact.

The silence was deafening, the only sound that could be heard was that of the soft rippling of the water. It was supposed to be soothing in the midst of the silence, but the repetitive sound only worsened his nerves, as it seemed to slowed the time in the tension which risen between them. It was suffocating.

Laxus stare at Lucy carefully, observing the changes in her expression. She looked taken aback. She clenched and unclenched her knuckles as she scoffed in disbelief. Despite the lack of lighting, Laxus could see her ears tinged pink. The tension quickly waned as Lucy brought her head down, not being able to look at Laxus in the face. Laxus bit his lip, he felt bad for making her feel bad, but Laxus kept standing there looking at her, waiting patiently for her to respond.

'Is that what you think about me all this time?' her voice was quiet. It was laced with disbelief and disappointment. Laxus didn't answer. No, he couldn't. Perhaps because he couldn't see her face that he was scared of not knowing what's in her mind. Or perhaps because of the way her shoulder tensing as a way to hold herself yet her hands trembled.

To be frank, Laxus just wanted to run and hug her tight then and there. He wanted to kiss her while gently caressing every part of her, telling her it's going to be alright. He wanted to just drop the matter and bring her home quickly whilst showering her with affection. But his pride wouldn't let him, and it made Laxus hate himself even more.

Minutes passed which seemed like hours for Laxus and Lucy still hadn't moved from her spot yet uttered another word. Every move she made, made him flinched. Laxus hesitated. He brought up his hand and took a step towards her. Lucy noticed and she unconsciously took a step back which made Laxus stopped in his track and dropped his hand back on his side. Laxus stare at her, concern.

'I—' Laxus words were cut off when Lucy suddenly looked up and stare at him. She was no longer glaring at him. Rather, her eyes looked confused and defeated. It broke his heart even more, making him start to wonder was it even worth it. Was his pride even mattered at all? Heck, he'd throw everything away just for the woman in front of him.

Lucy rubbed her face, 'Let's just hurry and finish this, now,' She muttered stiffly, not looking at Laxus anymore as she turned her back and walk towards the pond.

Laxus reached out his hand automatically but was greet with nothing as Lucy was already a good meter away from him. She left, widening their distance yet again. She was so close yet so far to him. Just why? If he chased after her, will she be there waiting for him? Or will she run away again? And who knows how many walls she put up yet again. Laxus had thought Lucy had opened herself up to him the day she spilled about Aquarius. And again when she accepted him and kept him by her side. Laxus wished she started to trust and rely on him because he would give everything for her.

'Lucy, please,' His voice cracked, even though it was barely a whisper.

'Please don't run away again,' He called out, 'It's fine. It's okay. I don't care if I'm just a distraction. But please, come back here and stay with me. Let's do this together, hm?' Anyone could tell Laxus was desperate.

Of course, he was. If he left things as it was and went back home, he was scared their bond would be too broken to be fix. He was terrified. At that point, he didn't care anymore. Be it a distraction or everything else, it didn't matter as long as she was beside him. As long as they are together.

Hearing Laxus desperately calling out her name, Lucy's chest tightened. She clenched her hands out of frustration, digging her nails into her palm in the process. She was having a hard time deciding whether to hug him or to smack him senseless. Her heart felt heavy with each step she took. She was taken aback by what Laxus' said, was Lucy seemed that way to him? She didn't mean to, that's for sure. It's not like she didn't trust him, she just needed time to fix the mess which is herself up for him. She wanted retrieve Aquarius by herself, so he'd be proud of her. So she'd be proud of herself—and the most important thing; so she'd be able to forgive herself. She didn't accept him because of his power and capabilities, she accepted him because it's Laxus. The stubborn yet sweet guy who surprisingly has a very soft heart. Him. Laxus frickin' Dreyar.

Her breath quickened as she felt warmth spreading through her chest. Lucy wanted to turn around. She wanted to run back and hug him and smack him, telling him he's an idiot for even thinking about that. Lucy stopped in her tracks, her heart was pounding as she slowly, but surely turned around to face him.

Bracing her heart, Lucy already anticipated seeing the desperate look on his face again; his widened eyes that looked so lost; his lips which threatening to tremble everytime he called out her name; his broad shoulder that always looked like it could shoulder any burden, slumping down at the thought she would leave him. With that in mind, she turned around.

However, her eyes never met Laxus'. Just before she was about to glance at him, her eyes froze upon landing on the kraken's body. Confusion and panic ran through her as she saw the kraken squirming while bit by bit, the cut off tentacles were slowly growing back.

Lucy instinctively held up her hand without looking at Laxus, telling him to be quiet.

'Stop talking. Shit…' she cussed, her voice was low and cautious. Lucy didn't dare to take another step.

As Laxus was about to protest, he noticed Lucy's panic face and trailed his gaze towards what she was seeing. It was established from the start that the squid—well, kraken was slimy, but what he saw in front of him was way gross. The kraken's tentacles that were already cut off by Lucy let out a good amount of slime and started to grow back. He shifted hi gaze back onto Lucy, looking for answers, but Lucy's face said it all. She, too, looked confused.

'Lucy… why did it grow back?' He asked.

Lucy was nibbling on her lower lip nervously, she hesitantly turned her head towards him, scared of doing sudden movements.

'I-I don't know,' her voice was low.

Laxus was worried as Lucy's expression wasn't getting any better. She looked panicked and confused. He was, too. But Laxus calmed himself and started to rack his brain for solutions.

'Then, how do we kill it?' He asked again.

Lucy already changed back into her normal attire. She gripped her keys tightly, she was anxious as she didn't have a lot magical powers left to summon her spirits.

'I… I don't know, Laxus. I don't know what to do,' she looked at him, her eyes were wild, panicking.

Seeing Lucy slowly broke down right in front of him made him almost lose all reason. He was tempted to move and give her a bone crashing hug, but he was more scared that it would do more damage than good.

'Lucy, sweetie,' he cooned as gentle as he could, 'It's going to be alright, okay? Calm down. You're not alone. I'm here, aren't I?' Laxus gave a small yet assuring smile.

Lucy's breath gradually softened, his voice pulled her away from the panic she got herself into. She stared at Laxus, his presence alone already made her feel so calm. She wondered how would it feel if he were to hug her and hold her close. He was right, she wasn't alone. She has him, right beside her. A lump caught in her throat, Lucy felt like crying.

Although she still felt all over the place, Lucy nodded obediently.

'Now, Let's—' before Laxus could finish his sentences, a loud screech rang through the entire cave.

Both of their heads automatically whipped towards the source of the sound. The kraken awoke, it seemed smaller somehow yet its tentacles were more menacing. The tentacles grew double its original amount and were whipping furiously. It screeched once more, there so much rage that Lucy couldn't help but flinched upon hearing it.

Lucy stood still in her place, not knowing what to do. Nothing made sense and she couldn't seem to think straight, the only thing filling her head was the screech. Her ears were ringing and she closed her eyes tightly, bringing her palms to her ears.

'-cy! …. Lucy!' She heard Laxus calling her, but the sound seemed so far somehow.

'Lucy! Come on, baby, stay with me!' It was louder now, but Lucy still didn't open her eyes. Suddenly, a loud crackle was heard, jolting Lucy from her frozen state.

She whipped her head towards Laxus, frowning when she saw Laxus was striking the Kraken with his lightning.

'What are you doing?! I told you, it absorbs magic. Stop it!' Lucy yelped, every inch of her body flinched, telling her to go help him.

Lucy pulled one of her key, gripping it tight until her knuckles turn white. She probably wouldn't last in ten minutes, but it was no time to be hesitating, she got to help him.

'Op—'

'Stop!' Laxus yelled from across the cave, his voice was ragged and he was panting harder than before It was clear that he hadn't recovered yet.

'I'll hold him off, you go and get the key.' He yelled again while dodging the tentacles that were coming at him.

Lucy's doubt from earlier vanished, instead it was replaced by disbelief. Lucy looked at him incredulously as if he's grown three heads.

She scoffed, 'As if. You barely could even stand!' She went to take another step but the ground in front of her suddenly struck with lightning.

Lucy whipped her head so hard and glared at Laxus. He was panting heavily while still dodging the tentacles and occasionally strike a small bit of lightning to divert its attention back to him. Laxus noticed the sharp glare Lucy send to his way.

He glanced, 'and you barely could summon a spirit. We don't even know how to beat it, it's suicide if we both attacked it.'

Lucy's frown deepened, 'But it's okay for you? What if you die?' her tone was harsh. Clearly, she didn't like his plan—it wasn't even a plan, he was just being reckless.

He landed a punch square to its eye, the kraken got a little bit loopy and Laxus glanced back at her.

'I won't,' he smirked, 'Now, go. She's important to you, right?' he was firm and looked satisfied by what he said, like he just said the right words to her. Laxus didn't see Lucy's reaction and turned his attention back to the kraken once again.

He might look like he was fine, but it was damn clear that he wasn't. Laxus was sweating buckets and Lucy also noticed his breaths became heavier by the minute. He looked like he was about to collapse.

If this was a book Lucy's writing, she might write the hero just like that. A chivalrous hero who's willing to sacrifice himself for the female lead, battling the monster with prideful glory as if sacrificing himself was always the right answer. For a fiction, maybe. But this was real. There wasn't going to be romanticization in this, she refused to lose another precious person. So, Lucy said, fuck it. If they're going down, then they're going down together. After all, she couldn't live without him anymore.

Lucy gripped the key that was in her hands tightly. Clenching her knuckles, Lucy summoned Cancer and once again changed into her star dress form. Twin, red blades appeared in both of her hands. From across the cave, she could see Laxus still dodging and punching the kraken, but he was beginning to lose. From her standpoint, it was a bit difficult to see as the kraken's body was huge, but from they way the slime left trails, Lucy deducted that Laxus was about to get cornered.

Lucy grinded her teeth, frustrated by his stubbornness and the fact that he thought he was doing something right. A groan caught her attention. Laxus was in the ground and the tentacles overpowered him once again. Lucy cried out and charged at the Kraken before it could harm Laxus. With blades ready in her hands, Lucy sliced the back of its head. It was shallow, but it was enough to distract its attention from Laxus.

'You… Idiot!' She dodged a tentacle whipping.

'I,' Lucy closed the distance between her and the Kraken.

She thrusted one of her swords onto the side of its head, 'Told you…!'

The Kraken screeched, 'You could barely stand!' she slashed the tentacles coming at her, she didn't care if it grew back, she was pissed at him.

Lucy offered her hand which he took it gently, although with difficulty, he managed to stand up. He didn't say a word—or more like, he couldn't. He was both touched and perplexed. Without warning whatsoever, Lucy back-slapped his head.

Speechless, Laxus could only rubbed his head and looked at Lucy questioningly in which Lucy replied with a glare. Crossing her arms, she scolded,

'Do you seriously think this will make me happy?' she tilted her head, her anger was evident and Laxus couldn't be more confused.

He glanced from left to right, searching for answer, but Lucy continued.

'Do you really think this is what I wanted?' she asked again, but in a more frustrated manner than anger. Lucy stare at Laxus exasperatedly, at loss at how to make him understand.

'Then what do you want?'

Laxus finally asked after a long pause. He figured there was no better way than to just ask her bluntly.

Frankly, his innocence made Lucy wanted to smack him for the second time, but she decided against it just because he looked a bit cute—alright, a lot cute.

Lucy ruffled her hair while groaning frustratedly, 'Gah! You! You big dummy, it's you!'

His oblivious face made her eyes twitched. Then, Lucy let out a long sigh.

'… I want to do this together, with you. I want us to fight together, side by side, and I want for you to be there when I have her back by my side. For god sake, Laxus how the hell did you come up with the conclusion that I used you as a distraction?' she scoffed to herself.

'If only you knew,' she muttered at the end of the sentence. It wasn't meant to be directed at him and it certainly wasn't meant to be heard by him.

But to no surprise, despite the lack magical powers, his ears were still in great condition whatsoever.

'Knew what?' he automatically asked.

Lucy shrugged and looked away, avoiding his eyes. Her ears tinged pink. She didn't want to confess to him like this, where the Kraken could regain consciousness any time.

But Laxus was stubborn, 'Knew what, Lucy?' he pressed, closing their distance so that he could reach for her chin gently and shifted her face to look at him.

When Laxus looked at her face, he was a bit taken aback. Lucy was already beet red and was nibbling on her lips to stop it from quivering. For a second he thought she was about to cry, but that wasn't the case at all.

'Hm?' Laxus asked gently.

She opened her mouth, 'T-that I frickin' love you!'

Lucy swallowed her nervousness, though the blush still stayed. The warmth in her cheeks became hotter and hotter as she tried to avoid his eyes but found herself went back into staring his stormy grey eyes that was full of surprise.

'That's right. I love you. I love your relentless stubbornness. I love how your eyes became gentle when they looked at me. I love how you scratched your head sleepily in the morning after you wake up. I love when you whisper sweet nothings to me every night. Fuck, you, Laxus. I. Love. You. Was that so hard to understand?' she said, punching his chest lightly. Lucy couldn't take it anymore and ended up bringing her head down in the middle of her confession. Her cheeks—no, everything was burning. Lucy was scared to look up.

Not to mention, Laxus had been frozen since her first sentence. His fingers on her chin became stiff, then it trembled.

Lucy bit her lips and slowly looked up to face him. Laxus watched her with surprise as they faced each other. His mouth was slowly agape, as it was loss for words. Lucy smiled gently.

'She is important to me, but so are you.' She said in a small voice, it was quivering but it sounded like melody to his ears.

'Do you understand? I can't live without you anymore, you dummy. You made me like this and you have to take responsibilities.'

Laxus was still agape, his mouth opening and closing, trying to make out any sound. He didn't know what to say. It seemed his heart was the one that did the talking for it beat loudly in a thundering pace. He could practically hear it thumping like it was about to leap out of his chest and onto Lucy. Clearly, he loves her, too. He loves her dearly. But no words could come out. Laxus' breath caught in his throat, he felt like crying. He felt like he would cry then and there if he was to say anything. But he didn't care. It was the tears of happiness.

'I—' His words were cut off by a loud screech. The Kraken was back.

Laxus whipped his head and glared towards the bastard cutting off their moment. He clenched his fist and was about to charge when Lucy put her hands on his chest, stopping him.

'No. Don't move too recklessly. I'm guessing it kept regenerating because of the magical powers it sucked off, so it should be weakening now. But we can't depend on that. You're barely holding up and I have less than five minutes left in this form—'

'That's right, the form. What the hell, Lucy, the Taurus form was hot—sorry.' He shut his mouth when Lucy glared at him.

'As I was saying,' she glared again, 'Our goal is not to kill it. But to render it unconscious, like before. With the magic reserves it had now, it would take longer to regenerate at least and that's when we grab both the key and the cart and get out of here.'

Lucy continued, 'The plan is, you will cover for me while I sliced off its tentacles—like I said, it would take longer for it to regenerate and it would be better if the tentacles were put away first. When the path is cleared, you have to punch its eye and after that I'll stab it.'

Laxus nodded, agreeing with the plan. 'Okay. Sounds good.'

Lucy gripped her blades tighter. Laxus tapped her shoulder, 'Be careful. Okay?'

Lucy nodded. The Kraken screeched once more, it had started to advance towards them. One of the tentacles reached them first but before it could do anything, Lucy already sliced it off. Lucy braced herself before running toward it. With her petite figure made her nimble and flexible as she had no difficulty passing and dodging the tentacles' whips. Lucy sliced off many while at the same time heading towards its head.

The sound of blade slicing, and flesh fallen to the ground filled the cave. Lucy grunted everytime she managed to slice one tentacles, she could feel her magic depleted bit by bit, but she held on. She held onto the hope, the hope that Laxus gave her ever since he took her home that night. The first time she ever felt warmth after a long time.

With that, the last tentacles covering up the way had been sliced off. Lucy turned her head quickly towards Laxus, but Laxus was one step ahead. He already flashed through her and onto its head. With one swift move, he landed a solid punch onto its eye.

The Kraken wailed loudly and fell with a loud thump. Its cut off tentacles trashed about frantically. Without wasting any time, Lucy took the chance and maneuvered her blade downwards, and stabbed its eye with so much force. It thrashed around for some more and soon became limp.

Lucy heaved a sigh of relief and fell down while changing into her normal attire. Instead of the ground, she was greeted by Laxus' warm embrace. Laxus smiled at her which she smiled back.

'You okay?' He asked, squeezing her shoulder.

Lucy nodded and Laxus put her down, though still put his arm around her to support her. She leaned her head on his chest while he unconsciously rubbed circle on her waist. It was soothing.

'Let's go?' Lucy nodded and they began to walk to the pond together.

Once they got there, Lucy released Laxus' hold on her and slowly dipped her foot in the pond one by one. The cave didn't have a proper lighting, but Lucy could see that the water was clear, so she could look through the bed of the pool. There wasn't anything at first, but then something caught her eyes.

It was on the far edges of the pond, a fist sized eggs nestled in the corner. There wasn't a lot and it didn't look out of place, but it piqued her curiosity. Lucy rushed there, creating ripples on the pond making the images blurred. She dipped her hand and pulled out the eggs one by one, checking them. It was white, almost transparent-like. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first and she was about to put it back, but she did a double take.

One of the eggs looked clearer than the other. Somehow, in the dimly litted cave, it sparkled, and Lucy could faintly sense magic from it, beating gently, like a heart. Lucy observed it closely and saw it had cracks around the center. Her breath caught in her throat. With trembling hands, Lucy gently broke the egg.

What she felt was utter nostalgia. Lucy suddenly felt like five years old again, dipping in the bath, playing with the water as Aquarius scold her. A single tear escaped her eye, to say she was happy was an understatement. She was elated. In her hands was, Aquarius. The gold key with the intricate design of waves and an urn with two handles on the other side. It was graced with the crest of the water bearer. There was no mistaken it. It's her. It's Aquarius. Lucy's tears escaped some more as she held the key close to her heart. She glanced at Laxus and mouthed thank you.

Laxus couldn't help but grinned happily as he saw the woman he loves reunited with her family. He was standing by the cart, leaning against the stone walls. Laxus held the urges to embrace her, he wanted to give her some time and to be frank, Laxus didn't have that much energy. He was exhausted. After this, he would probably sleep for the rest of the weekend.

Lucy walked back to his side after a while. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, although the expression on her face told the opposite. She was grinning ear to ear, her eyes were sparkling excitedly. However, it didn't last long. A rumbling was heard and the Kraken's loud screeched was heard once again. Laxus, who was leaning against the walls with his eyes closed quickly went into cautious mode.

He glanced at Lucy, who, like him was cautious, too.

'Let's go,' he said firmly and grabbed her hand.

Lucy pulled his hand before he could turn towards the cart.

'How are we getting out of here?' She asked, flinching once the Kraken screeched again.

Laxus contemplated. They were both exhausted and there was the cart. The road to the entrance was quite far. For once in his life, Laxus was worried. Not because of his safety, but because of Lucy's. He couldn't guarantee them getting out using the entrance safely. Then there was only one choice; teleporting. It would taxed him a lot, but it was the only choice.

Laxus put his arm around Lucy and held her close, 'Brace yourself,' he squeezed her close and put the other hand on the cart.

Lucy gasped, she realized what he was about to do. It was far too dangerous, but Lucy didn't have a chance to say anything because the lightning already struck from where they stood. The same prickly feeling enveloped her and they teleported out of there in an instant.

Lucy fell to the ground with a thud, she looked up and saw the entrance of the inn she was staying. Her hand was clutched in a fist, in her heart. The smooth surface of the key grazed her palm, it was real. It was really Aquarius.

A couple of villagers passed by, giving them confused looks. Some them gave a worried look, not at Lucy, but at the figure beside her. Lucy gasped and she quickly whipped her head towards Laxus.

He was on the ground, unconscious.

'Laxus!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, this isnt the last chapt btw


	15. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we've reached the end, folks. goddamn i am relieved and sad at the same time. it had been to long. this story had progressed from june 2020 and i did consider to drop it because college was just not having it. but I'm glad i decided to continue this. anyway, thank you for y'all who stuck by this story till the end! i really appreciate y'alls comments. thank you.

Sunlight peeked through the slightly ajar windows, basking the small room with warm light. The sun was at its highest and the morning breeze had gone, leaving the room stiflingly hot. Laxus was mumbling incoherently in his sleep, his head moved agitatedly. He could feel sweats trickling down his forehead and onto his ears. For some reason, half of his body and his right arm were heavy, like there was a weight preventing him to move. He groaned in his sleep. He had to wake up, he had to see Lucy. What happened? Did they make it out? he did feel like dropping to the hard concrete after he teleported them, the last thing he remembered before losing his consciousness was to say "I love you" back to Lucy.

In all honesty, Laxus was still shock about her abrupt confession. Not to mention, it was because of his stupidness and stubbornness that made her confess first. It did hurt his pride a little bit, but it didn't matter. She truly was the coolest and he kept finding himself falling even more. Ah, but what if all of that was a dream? He was, in fact, sleeping. Laxus didn't continue the thought, he could already feel like Lucy smacking him for even thinking about that.

Suddenly, the weight on his arm shifted and he found himself opening his eyes slowly. Laxus automatically squinted his eyes when greeted by the piercing sunlight, he brought his free hand—the left one to his eyes, covering them. Once he adjusted, he brought his hand back to his side and lifted his head. He craned his neck towards the right and found locks of blonde hair sprawled on his side. Lucy was sleeping soundly, clutching his right arm, her head nestled on the crook of his neck. Her slow breaths tickled his neck and Laxus could feel the rising of her chest ever so steady.

For someone who was sleeping so soundly, Lucy sure had a tight grip on his arm. He struggled for a while, but eventually decided to stop; he didn't want to disturb her sleep. Laxus let out a sigh of relief. Thank god, Lucy looked fine. He stared at the wooden ceiling, dust moats fluttering about in the sunlight that streamed from the windows. His free hand unconsciously reached for Lucy's head. Careful not to wake her up, Laxus gently caressed her head, stroking her soft golden hair, twirling it with his fingers.

His felt sore all over. He admitted, he did push himself to teleport them out but he just wanted to get out of there quickly and focusing all of his attention to Lucy. Laxus' heartbeat quickened at the thought of her confession once again. His ears felt warm as it were flushed in a rosy color.

'She loves me…' he mumbled to himself, disbelief and a tint of elation in his voice.

But as always, love comes with the fear. He feared that he would hurt her, that she would let him go, or that she would change her mind, he feared of the breakup, will they? After all, all relationships has an expiration date, right? The mere thought of that left a terrible bitter taste in his mouth and Laxus unknowingly had put his arm around her and holding her tightly.

His heart pace quickened once again, but it felt heavy as though that thought was dragging himself further from her. He tightened his hold again as he slowly fallen into the blackhole he made himself.

'You're crushing me, big guy,' A familiar muffled voice and taps on his chest pulled him back to reality. Laxus glanced to the source of the sound and instantly let go his hold from Lucy once he saw Lucy's petite figure under his hold squeezed ever so tightly. He gave her a guilty look.

Lucy gave a sigh of relief once he lets go, giving her much air to breathe and chuckled.

'No, no. Keep hugging me,' she gestured her hand and then proceeded to grab his other arm and put it back around her.

Once she nestled back into his embrace, Lucy looked up and stared at him. She grinned, her face was so bright it almost made Laxus forgot what he was thinking about before.

'That's better,' Lucy said, smiling brightly at him and Laxus heart swelled.

He's so stupid. Why did he even think about what hasn't happened? They're going to be okay. Both of them will. He will make sure of that. Laxus tightened his hold over her again, but not as hard. His lips lightly brushing against her soft hair and he didn't hesitate to plant his lips onto her head, gently, lovingly. Ah, Laxus loves her so much. Her hair smelled nice. The flowery scent fluttering his sense of smell, intoxicating him.

He let go of his hold and reached for her cheek. Laxus brushed his thumb across Lucy's cheek and stroke it in a circle motion slowly. He moved his hand, bringing her face upward so she would face him. He cupped her face, stroking her cheeks with his thumb gently as if he was afraid that she will break under his touch. Lucy leaned into his touch. In Laxus' eyes, she looked so delicate, so fragile, but he knew she was anything but.

Laxus brought his face closer until their breaths sync as one, he swiped his thumb across his lower lip and a sweet rosy scent wafted up to his nose, the distinct scent of Lucy which so familiar yet he couldn't ever seem to be getting enough of it intoxicated him. His heart was about to burst out of his chest, and he could hear hers beating erratically, too. Her warm breath tickling his face, inviting him to get closer. He trailed his gaze around her face, from her plump lips to her beautiful brown eyes and as he bore his gaze onto hers, time felt like stopping.

He pulled her face closer and greeted her lips with his. Their heavy breaths, their warmth and their pounding heart became one as Laxus moved gently against her lips, savoring her soft surface. The feeling of her lips on his invaded his senses, making him addicted and greedy. As he deepened their kiss, Lucy brought her hand on top of his hand, their fingers moved in together as Lucy laced her fingers and him capturing hers. Laxus was going crazy, sweet rosy scent overtake his sense of smell in each breath he took, the way she nibbled on his lower lip longingly, the way her leg snaked in between his, all of it left him wanting for more.

As Lucy groaned against his mouth, Laxus took the chance to slip in his tongue inside which she happily welcomed. Their tongues wrestled against each other before Lucy finally yield due to his intensity and dominance. Heat rose from his stomach as he kissed her with more force than before; rougher, hungrier. Then, his tongue caressed the roof of her mouth gently, making Lucy shuddered in pleasure because of the sudden gentleness.

His arm already going places, Laxus left her cheek ages ago and slide his hand down to her waist and onto her back, pushing her to him so he could deepen their kiss more. A groan escaped his lips when Lucy unintendedly grinded her hips against his crotch. The air was heavy with both of their arousal and Laxus knew if he proceed, he wouldn't be able to stop—rather, he won't.

Laxus was hesitating, but unexpectedly, Lucy was the one that broke their kiss first. She pushed his chest and let go, trying to catch her breath. Laxus, heavily panting, leaned in and kiss her forehead, then her nose, and a chaste kiss to her lips. After that, he leaned his forehead against hers, smiling.

'Can't we do it?' he murmured, staring at her with puppy eyes and mouth slightly pouting, it was clear that he was disappointed about their kiss ended all too soon.

Lucy pinched his cheek, she almost gave in but then she shook her head.

'Nope,' she replied, popping the 'p'.

'But why…' Laxus whined, squeezing her waist, then sneakily slid down towards her arse but Lucy smacked his hand before he reached his destination.

'Tsk, tsk. Sneaky move, Dreyar,' Lucy held out her hand and balled it into a fist, 'Here's why—' as she said that, Lucy punched her fist into Laxus' side, not with much force, but not light either.

A sharp pain erupted on his side where Lucy hit him, the place was throbbing mildly—enough to make Laxus cringe from the pain. He groaned, clutching his side while Lucy puffed her cheeks, giving him a pointed look.

Laxus glanced at Lucy, 'And it went down, thanks a lot, Luce,' he said jokingly, still clutching his side.

Lucy's cheeks tinged pink as she realized what he was implying. She kissed his cheek, then hoisted herself up and placed her hand beside his head, trapping him in between. She kissed his nose chastely.

'I'll make it up to you in double—no, triple, deal?'

'What are we talking about here?' his voice suddenly turned business-like, 'The duration? The play? Can I do it as long as I want and whatever I want?' Lucy was trying so hard not to smile as she saw the way his eyes lit up like a child given a toy while his voice was deep and serious.

So, Lucy smirked, 'You can do whatever you want.'

Laxus cracked a grin, 'You got yourself a deal, ma'am.' He laid his now-free right hand across the bed, beckoning Lucy to lay back down with him to which Lucy happily obliged.

'Now, rest. You haven't healed completely,' she ordered after getting herself comfortable in Laxus arm as a makeshift pillow.

Laxus shook his head, 'Ugh, I'm sick of sleeping. Let's just talk,'

'Talk about what?' She murmured into his shoulder.

'I don't know,' he shrugged, 'Anything and everything.'

Lucy snorted, 'And what is that? Do you want me to scold you, instead? You're not exactly off the hook, y'know. Going around places by your own and hurting yourself in the process. Man, you're in for a long scolding.' She threatened, but the humor was clear in her voice.

'Aww…' he sounded dejected, 'Can't we skip that? I mean, all is well, right?' Lucy could almost feel he said that with pair of droopy puppy ears.

However, Lucy was immune to his plea and flicked his forehead instead.

'How could I, when you were that reckless? Seriously, Laxus. You could have died without figuring out what it was doing to you—' Lucy noticed the look Laxus was giving her, 'Okay, fine. That was an exaggeration, but you could've died nonetheless!' She pointed out, jabbing her finger repeatedly onto his chest.

Laxus pursed his mouth, Lucy did have a point. He was being reckless.

'I'm sorry, I was really scared when you got angry and I thought maybe if I'm the one looking for it you'll be happier and you'd forgive me.' He admitted, scratching his jaw awkwardly.

What Lucy gave in response was a hearty laugh, 'You dummy,' she shifted her face slightly upward, facing him.

'I was at fault, too. I'm sorry I lashed out on you like that, I guess I was just too surprised and ashamed of myself for thinking about giving up on her.' Lucy glanced at her necklace, holding it wistfully. It didn't go unnoticed by Laxus as he reached out his hand and put it on top of hers, caressing it gently.

'But it's okay, now, right?' He murmured.

When Lucy didn't answer, he shifted his hand onto her cheek and pulled her face so that she looked at him. Laxus let out a sigh of relief when he saw that she didn't cry. Instead, Lucy was grinning widely.

'Yeah. It's okay, I'm okay. Thank you.'

Laxus' heart did a backflip. His mouth was agape, but no words could come out. He was just… touched. Utterly and completely touched. With one swift move, he swung his left arm and enveloped Lucy into a warm, bear hug.

Laxus groaned to himself, 'Urgh… this is why I love you,' He tightened his arm around her while giving multiple pecks to her hair and her forehead.

'I love you, Lucy. I love you, too. I love you so much. Damn it, I can't even believe how happy I'm feeling right now,' His body was tingling all over, Laxus couldn't make sense of the elation he was feeling. Like soaring through the sky freely, he felt really high and he didn't want to come down.

He let go of his hold to attack more of Lucy's face with his kiss and what he saw made his heart fluttered even more. Lucy seemed to be short circuiting, even amidst all the hair covering her face, the rosy pink tint in her cheeks that rose from her neck was fairly visible. Laxus brushed the hair away from her face, Lucy was avoiding eye contact from him. Then, he cupped her cheeks.

'Won't you look at me? Hm?' he cooed, stroking her cheeks. But Lucy just gave a defiant hum.

'I mean… you're the one that confessed first, why are you getting embarrassed now?' he asked, lowering his head to try levelling his face to her.

Lucy pursed her lips and smacked Laxus' chest, 'Shut up,' she grumbled with eyes still avoiding his.

Laxus chuckled, 'Oh, you in a tsundere mode now, I see' he joked causing Lucy to land yet another smack onto his hard chest.

Lucy turn and glared at him, but there was a hint of small smile etched to her mouth, 'I'm not,' she denied.

Laxus chuckled, 'Good, now you're looking at me.' He said, grinning.

His smile was contagious as Lucy was about to glare at him some more but couldn't help but widened her smile. The smile quickly turned into a fit of giggles. Soon, both of them were laughing together, looking at each other, to the happiness they both give.

After their laughter died down, Lucy stare at his eyes, a sweet smile graced her beautiful face, 'I'm happy, too.'

Another arrow struck to his chest. He couldn't get over the fact that he was so soft towards her. Not just her voice or the way she says things, but also her face, her expression, and her sweet smile with that lips, the soft lips that he would like to kiss so much. Fuck, that smile would be the death of him someday. It also didn't miss him, the fact that her eyes seemed so much brighter and livelier nowadays, how her smiles reached her eyes…he was glad, especially due to the fact that he helped for it to happen. He helped her.

Laxus bit his lip, holding himself back as to not jump at her. He cleared his throat, 'Anyway, let's talk about your confession—'

Lucy slapped his mouth shut with both of her hand frantically, her cheeks tinged pink yet again, 'Nooo, I'm embarrassed about it now, you know? I don't know what came over me either. Well, it's your fault, too! Saying dumb things like how I used you as a distraction—which is wrong by the way. How the hell did you come up with that?' she grumbled, releasing her hand from his mouth and laid on her back, staring at the ceiling.

This time, it was Laxus' turn to blush. He copied Lucy and laid on his back and stared at the ceiling.

'W-well, I'm sorry about that, too. I think I was a bit insecure…with how we're going this fast and no problems surfaced, but then you also never told me anything—like how you're feeling, whether you're okay, what you wanted to do. 'cuz, you know, I was really happy when you opened up to me that night, even if it was because you were a bit drunk, but I was happy nonetheless.' His hand absentmindedly stroking her hair.

Laxus sighed, '…but I guess things do take time. I was too hasty, I'm sorry.' He said again.

Lucy reached for his hand on her hair, brought it down and laced her fingers to his. She pulled their intertwined hands towards her lips, and kissed the back of his hand gently. Still staring at the ceiling, Lucy spoke, 'Yeah… I'm sorry too. I didn't know you felt that way, I should've talk to you. Heck, we should've talked to each other and I think I know what prevented us from doing that; it's the sex,'

'It's totally the sex.' Laxus chided in, agreeing.

'Should we take a break from sex, then?'

'Babe, you tryna kill me or something?'

Lucy giggled, 'I'm kidding, haha.'

Silence soon befell on them. It wasn't the kind where neither have nothing to talk about anymore, instead, the silence was comfortable. They both fell silent to understand each other, to grow, to introspect, and to do better. For themselves, and for each other.

'Hey,' Laxus spoke after some time, 'Do you remember that time, after the festival—where I-uh…went a bit mad? You said these words to me "come back soon, will you?" I've been wondering for some time, what did you mean by that? And why?'

At first, he didn't want to bring up the question. He actually had decided to just drop it because it didn't relate to their relationship. But curiosity beat him, and they were on the topics of opening up to each other, so he figured he'd ask.

Laxus glanced at Lucy, wanting to see her expression. Lucy was contemplating.

'Hmm… oh, at that time when you were about to leave?' Laxus gave a hum in reply, '…No reason, really. And I meant just that; you to come back to the guild soon.' She answered matter-of-factly.

His shoulder slumped a bit after hearing her answer. Laxus didn't know what to expect, really, maybe he wanted her answer to be slightly romantic…? God, did he hear himself right? Romantic? He was becoming more and more sappy and he didn't know how to feel about that. Anyway, not that it was Lucy's fault but he was just a tiny bit disappointed.

'And partly because I have a crush on you,' Laxus ears perked up suddenly, he whipped his head towards her so quick…to see that she was staring at him with playful smirk plastered on her mouth.

Lucy instantly burst out laughing upon seeing Laxus flustered face.

'Were you expecting a grand confession where I fell in love with you from a long time ago?' she asked playfully, her eyes held humorous glint.

Laxus didn't answer. Aside from annoyed at her for saying she had a crush on him on purpose, he was also embarrassed because she was right on point. He frowned and grunted, staring at her crossly.

'Aww—' she pinched his cheek, 'Well, it wasn't a complete lie. I might have a teeny tiny bit of crush on you, a teenager crush kind of way.'

'R-really?' He raised an eyebrow, although he was looking at her sceptically, there was a tint of hope in his voice.

Lucy nodded, 'Yeah. I mean, who wouldn't? you were practically a walking sexiness,'

Laxus' face shone with pride but then he frowned, 'were?'

'Then!' she clapped, pretending not to hear his protest, 'Why were you so stuck on that time, don't tell me you're the one that's been totally in love with me?' she asked jokingly to which Laxus replied,

'Well, not exactly. It's just that—it surprised me. Not to mention, I was being a jerk to you—not directly, but still. And to think that you didn't held grudges for any of that somehow made me ashamed of myself and wondered what kind of person you are. So… I guess you could say that those words you said to me became some kind of goal for me, like, the thing that made me kept striving to become a better person—well, that was a cringey word…'

A sniffle cut off his ramblings and he saw that Lucy was wiping out tears from the corner of her eyes. He became panicked in instant.

Lucy held up her hand before Laxus could say anything, 'I'm okay… I'm just touched. Oh, what the hell,' She laughed, wiping yet another tear as it won't stop streaming down her face.

Laxus placed his hand on her cheek, chuckling as he wiped the tears in her cheek and chin. He really didn't get the woman in front of him, she'd get mad at him and then she apologized and the next she cried for him. It's like he was the centre of her world. And she most definitely was the centre of his. Really, she made him want to not let her go. And he won't.

'I love you, Lucy,' He murmured as he kissed her forehead, inhaling the sweet, sweet scent of her hair that he came to love.

Lucy put her arm around Laxus and hugged him tight, 'I love you too, Laxus.'

XXXX

Lucy panted heavily as they finally got to the top of the hill. Laxus was beside her, looking more than fine. Really, cursed him and his never-ending stamina. If it was up to her, Lucy would totally choose Laxus' teleportation, but unfortunately, he didn't know the place and therefore they couldn't teleport.

Her exhaustion almost made her forget the reason she came to this place. Once she saw the pond between the mossed ruins glimmering under the piercing sunlight, her heart pace quickened and her hand unconsciously touching her key holder. Lucy glanced around the place, she couldn't believe how it still stayed the same. The place was a vast hill, located in the outskirts of Magnolia. Instead of having the view of the entire Magnolia, like the place where their date was, it was overlooking a forest.

Lucy had come before with Natsu, in fact, he was the one who introduced this place to her. Mainly because Natsu's house was close by and he usually trained with Happy here. One day, Lucy found him in this hill after seeing that his house was empty and after that, she often practiced together with them. She started to went there herself whenever Natsu was nowhere to be found and it became a habit after the guild disbanded. It became her safe place.

'This is it,' Lucy said, wiping the sweat that trickled down her temple. She walked, the opposite way of the ruins. She laid down in the bed of asters, squinting as the sun hit her eyes. Lucy inhaled deeply, the sweet flower scent filling her nose. The sky was clear blue, the grass was grazing her skin softly, and the flowers smelled nice, but she couldn't seem to calm her nerves. A rustle was heard beside her, Laxus were sitting down beside her, straightening his legs. She glanced at him. He was gazing at the sky, too, but his hand sneaked into hers, and placed it gently on top of hers. He didn't say anything except rubbing comforting circles on her hand.

Lucy smiled to herself, relieved. She was glad that he was there with her, that he was beside her. His presence alone gave her so much strength to not have a nervous breakdown. Really, she didn't know what would she do without him. Lucy pulled herself up in a sitting position and squeezed his hand, soundlessly telling him that she was ready. Laxus squeezed her hand back in encouragement and stood up, pulling her with him.

He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulder, squeezing it. Lucy gave him a smile of gratitude and turned around to walk towards the pond with Laxus in tow.

Taking her steps slowly, each step felt heavy as the closer she got the harder her heart pounded in her chest. Lucy shakily reached for her key holder and held out Aquarius' key. Grazing her thumb around the key, she made sure, for the hundredth time, that what she was holding was indeed Aquarius. It still felt surreal. She had spent so many time, blood, sweat, and tears for the key. She had lost her way, she even came close to giving up. But she also found light. Hope. And him.

Maybe loosing Aquarius was a good thing. Lucy was able to learn a lot of things. About life, about love. Especially about not giving up on someone precious. Lucy chuckled ironically, remembering her breakdowns. She sure as hell went through a lot to found her way again. If she were still the drunk wreck she was, Lucy wouldn't want to face Aquarius again. She'd be ashamed.

Lucy stepped into the stone dam, staring at the pristine water that was softly rippling. She held out the key and took a shaky breath deeply.

'Open, the gate of the water bearer. Aquarius.' She chanted slowly, clearly, placing the key in the surface of the water.

A blue seal broke out around the key and a feeling of nostalgic washed over Lucy. Her breath caught in her throat as the water around it swirled, revealing a blue haired mermaid, holding an urn.

She felt tears prickling her eyes as Aquarius scrunched her eyebrows and glared at her feistily. Lucy smiled and surprisingly, Aquarius smiled, too. Couldn't held it in any longer, Lucy burst out into tears and lunged at her beloved spirit. Her mother, her family. Aquarius.

'Took you long enough, brat.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think they all got closure, no? well, this is not a promise but i might post an extra chapter for this. maybe some smut, maybe some fluff. idk yet. I just don't want lucy and laxus' story to be over yet, ykno? this story will still be marked as completed but maybeee I'll post some extras


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